Our Journey
by UnlawfulDisorder
Summary: Jake and Kate: colleagues, friends and something more? When an accident threatens to take everything Jake really cares about away from him, how will it affect their relationship? Or will it be too late? Kate/Jake pairing
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my first fan fiction : ). It's mainly Kate/Jake, but it progresses eventually in the story. The first few chapters are introductory and filler chaps, so bare with me... I've taken a couple of episode from the series, but I've changed the story line a bit (like in this chap it should be Sam but I took Joe instead, you'll get what I mean when you start reading). Hope you don't mind.. Anyways, enjoy : )**

**Disclaimers: I do not in any way own Law and Order Uk (Unfortunately cos I definiteley would not have put the show on break :(...)**

It was a nice sunny morning, contrasting harshly with the disaster in front of him. Detective Seargant Ronnie Brooks sighed, almost 40 years he'd been working for the police force and this was one of the worst wrecks he'd ever seen.

The commuter train was derailed, part of it had been turned over too. Its front was irreckongisable, and the car that had been driven onto the tracks, causing the crash, was completely crumpled. Someone had driven that car onto the tracks, and the train had crashed into it.

Ronnie slowly walked closer to the train. There were so many people around it. Engineers were cutting the car open, looking for the passenger that had driven it. "14 dead till now", Joy, the pathologist, said to her clipboard, while pulling a covered strecher into an ambulance. Paramedics were taking care of the less serious injuries, "...about 120 people were injured..." Ronnie overheard someone say. Uniformed officers were talking to all the people who were on the train, but no one had seen anything. Medical examiners were zipping big black bags around the dead victims, before loading them onto strechers for Joy to take to her lab.

"I need a paramedic, I need a paramedic now!" Ron heard his partner, Joe, call. 2 medics quickly ran towards the direction of his voice, inside the wrecked train. Ronnie followed, in time to see the doctor roughly pulling Joe away from a small boy. Quickly, the doctors started to perform CPR on him.

"Joe.. it's a real wreck out here, ay? Just heard Joy say 14 dead.." Ronnie said gently. Without looking up from the paramedics, who were shaking their heads slowly, Joe replied, "It's 15 dead." Ronnie sighed as he patted Joe's shoulder. The younger detective had just joined the team from the child abuse section, and this was his first case as a detective. His brown eyes were full of sorrow as Ronnie led him away from the boy.

"His name was Max.." he started, but was interrupted by Gary, a lab technition. He waved at them from the front of the train. "Ron! Come and 'av a look at this!"

"Com'on, Joe, let's see if they found the driver of the car. The murderer, one can say.." Ronnie and Joe walked over to Gary. The engineers had managed to saw the car open, but there was on crushed body, as they were expecting. Gary was gently brushing black powder along the stering wheel. "Bingo! Palm print!" he said, and picked it up with transparent plastic.

"But mate, where's the dead driver?" Joe asked, confused. "Aha, DS Hawkings, now that is a very good question. The driver must have exited the car before the train crashed, there's no way he would have survived the crash if he were still in the car.."

Ronnie frowned, and looked over his shoulder. "Well, the only way to get out of this place is that gate over there, but the barber wire on top and the lock show that no one left this scene..." he said, and looked promptly at Joe as if to say, _so this means..._ Joes hesitated for a moment, before saying "...and since officers arrived here, the gates have been guarder, not allowing anyone to exit. Which means that the driver is still here at the scene, mingling with the real victims!"

Ron grinned, "We'll yet make a detective out of you! This is starting to look easy, the person who caused this crash is literally handcuffed to the crime scene, and we 'av his palmprint too! All we have to do is find some suspects.."

"Ronnie, let's start with the passengers who didn't have a ticket. 'Cos the driver wouldn't have a ticket, now, would 'e? " Joe said. Gary interjected, "Simon there is questioning all the people who were on the train..." Ronnie nodded, "Right, com'on Joe. Thanks Gary. Simon?" he called.

"Oh, hiya Ron. I've interviewed quite a few passengers already, till now those 3 were unable to produce a valid ticket." He pointed towards them, a paramedic was bandaging a woman's leg while the other two seemed to be waiting for their turn.

"Brilliant, Simon!" Ron said before heading towards the people. When they arrived next to them, Ronnie gently asked the woman "Goodmoring, how are you doing?" Clearly in shock, the woman started blabbering on how horrified she was at what had happened, how lucky she was to have only a small cut (the cut on her leg was big, jagged and uneven, and definitely not small). She was saying that she must have lost her ticket, which was in her pocket, during the crash, when something caught Joe's eye. The doctor had turned to clean the next person's wounds. She was wiping at a long, even cut on a man's forearm. He narrowed his eyes, it was too clean and even, especially after he'd seen the cut on the woman's leg. The contrast was immense. He nudged Ronnie before speaking to the man.

"Hello, I'm DS Hawkings. What's your name?"

"I'm Finn. Finn Tyler."

"That's a nasty cut you got there."

The man glanced down and uncertainly back up to Joe. "Yeah, a piece of flying glass caught me. Luckily only my arm."

"Well mate, the problem is that _that _was definitely not cut by flying glass, it's too clean. To would be a jagged and deep cut, like this lady's."

Ronnie added, "That was cut by a blade." He raised an eyebrow, causing even more wrinkles to appear on his forehead. The man looked at the two detectives, his lips quivering.

"Finn?" Ronnie asked. He gave Joe a nod, who said, "Finn Tyler, I'm arresting you on suspicion of 15 counts of murder. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later will rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence." He cuffed Tyler while saying it. Tyler looked as though he was about to start crying. "I'm so sorry! I never meant to kill anyone!" he said as the detectives led him away, towards their squad car.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is the second chapter, a bit of a long one cos it's the first time Jake and Kate meet (the other chapters won't be as long). I will try to post a chapter every day when possible, but if I don't manage it's cos I have exams coming up (if my friend is reading this she knows what I mean, 'hux'? :P)… So enjoy : )**

**Disclaimers: I don't own Law and Order UK :(. Those rights go to Dick Wolf and ITV…**

"Finn Tyler, you have a right to a lawyer."

"I don't want one yet."

"So why don't you tell us what happened? We know you were in that car which was driven onto the tracks, we found your palm print in it."

"Yes, I was in the car. I nicked it and drove it onto the tracks."

"Why did you do that, Finn?"

"I wanted to kill myself. I never meant to hurt anyone! I never meant to kill anyonhe but myself!" Finn broke down, crying.

Joe glanced at Ronnie, this seemed a little too easy, as their Govenor entered the room.

"For the tape, Detective Inspector Wes Layton has just entered the room.." Ronnie said. Wes had heard enough, so he said: "Finn Tyler, I'm charging you with 15 counts of murder..."

Jacob Thorne reached over to switch the video off, and sighed. Ronnie, who was sitting in front of the prosecutor and started ranting: "Jake, this man stole a car, crashed through a gate and drove for 3 miles through the country side towards a train track, and parked it there. He wanted to kill himself but then got cold feet. He claims that the car wouldn't turn on again, and so he got out and watched the commuter train crash into it. Then he inflicted a superficial wound to himself, and tried to blend in at the crime scene to get away. I sincerely hope you will prosecute him with 15 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder!"

"Of course I will, Ron."

"Good, 'cos that man deserves 15 life sentences for what 'es done." Joe said. The image of Max, the little boy he'd tried to save seemed to be imprinted in his brain.

"I agree with you. I'll manage to win this case. These people and their families deserve justice!"

"...don't count your chickens before they've hatched, Jake."

Jake's boss, Henry Sharpe, exited his office and stepped into Jake's ajoining one. "Have you heard who's defending Tyler?"

"No, Henry, I haven't. And it's not important. I've got enough to convince a jury of Tyler's guilt, if this even goes to a trial. I mean, Tyler's admitted already..."

Henry sighed as he stared at Jake. Jake was a 31 year old man, tall with a very good figure, and thick black hair. His brown eyes were full of anger towards Tyler, this man who had taken the lives of 15 innocent people. Henry admired Jake, he was one of the best prosecutors he'd ever met, if not the best. That's why he'd employed him, after all.

"He's not pleading guilty, so most probably this will go to trial. Unless you'll take what his lawyer will ask for, which somehow I doubt. Well, I'm glad that you're confident that you can win this case. You'd better start working, then..."

Ronnie and Joe stood up, walking towards the door.

"Thanks Jake. If you need anything..." Joe said. "We'll be off, catch some breakfast, how 'bout some chips, mate?" Ronnie said, while waving goodbye at Jake and Henry.

They left, silence surging into the office. Henry stared as Jake started spreading out the papers from the file Ronnie and Joe had just brought. Then, he started to type furiously on his computer.

After a minute of silence, Henry told Jake: "Katherine Barker. She's Tyler's lawyer."

Jake looked up for a moment, before shrugging. "So?"

"Don't you know who she is?"

"No, but I'll find out tomorrow, won't I? When she'll try to get a deal… Plea bargaining."

"I can't believe you don't know who she is! Short while ago, a man was accused of importing, gambling and prostitution. Somehow, he manages to cough up for Kate Barker, and she gets 'im off the hook! Huge disappointment in the CPS of Manchester… A new attractive young barrister on the scene and you don't know about it? You're losing your touch Jake!" Henry laughed.

"Just 'cos she managed to win one difficult case doesn't mean she will win this one. She's only doing legal aid, isn't she? Tyler's admitted already. She'd be stupid to tell her client to plead not guilty, a jury would immediately see that he killed 15 innocent people…"

"Don't let that fool you, Jake…I've heard that she doesn't like letting her clients plead guilty to charges against them, she prefers to go to trial and try her luck at winning. And from what they say, she is very good at doing that." Henry warned, before going back into his office. Jake smiled; confident about the case, there wasn't any hole Tyler could slip out of, so he knew this Kate wasn't going to be a threat to him.

He sighed and glanced across the room, to the empty desk. Almost 1 month ago, his prosecuting partner, Alesha, had left. She'd been promoted elsewhere. Jake missed her, the office was so quiet without her, and if she still were there, he'd let her take the case. He knew he wouldn't be working alone for long; Henry was already searching for a replacement. He shook his head, before continuing what he was meant to be working on.

The next day, Jake was in his office waiting for Tyler's lawyer, ready to discuss and bargain on the charges. He glanced at his watch, thinking _10 minutes late! _when suddenly the door opened.

A short woman entered, she was like an elf, he thought. She was smartly dressed in a black skirt, light blue shirt and blazer, and she was carrying a huge file in her arms. Her hair was blonde and held out of her face in a bun, but a wavy strand was loose, tickling her cheek. She had bright green eyes and her lips were perhaps a tad too wide. She looked him up and down eagerly. He scanned her too, and couldn't help but admire the way the pencil skirt hugged her thighs and hips perfectly, and how the shirt clung to her slim waist. He smirked when he saw that the shirt was a button too many open.

She then smiled at him, and adorable lines appeared in her cheeks. "Kate Barker" she said in a very accented voice. She shifted the files in one arm, and held the other one out to him. He took it, and they shook hands.

"Jacob Thorne" her replied, and gestured for her to sit down.

"Diminished responsibility. My client has a history of depression; he's also a prolific self-harmer. In fact, the confession wasn't handled properly…" she said, immediately getting to the point.

"No, Tyler was assessed fit for interview by the forensic medical examiner. He admitted to committing the crime and he was fully aware of what he was doing at the time."

"With his cut arm still gushin' blood? If we can't agree, this 'ill go to a jury. I'm asking for manslaughter, diminished responsibility. The judge will give him a hospital order and help him. He is mentally ill."

"Finn Tyler deserves 15 life sentences for what he's done, not a hospital order! You can't treat this like he killed one person rather than 15!" Jake argued, stunned at what Kate was asking for. She smiled at him and leaned forwards. Due to that extra open button he found it hard to keep his gaze focused on her eyes only.

"But that was his _intent_, to kill one person, himself." She countered.

"Shame he didn't have the balls to stay in the car, then."

"You can make me a counter, I love a good barter!" she said brightly, putting her Ugg clad feet up on a nearby chair. His eyes travelled down her toned legs to her feet, and he pulled a face, she was wearing disgusting looking boots.

"Please, do make yourself at home!" he said a bit sarcastically, and continued, "We're charging 15 counts of murder. The only bargain you're getting is 120 dropped charges of attempted murder. I'd say you've got yourself a pretty good deal."

She tilted her head, "Nah, not good enough." She got up. "Mentally disordered defendants are my passion project, this 'ill make a great case study."

"Oh, now I get the legal aid…"

She stared at him. "What, cos all defence barristers are interested in is the page count? Maybe I'm different…" she smiled.

"I'll see you in court, then, Miss Barker." He said, smirking slightly. She nodded, before turning around and leaving. Once the door between them was closed, they both exhaled.

_God, she was annoying!,_ he though. But, he realised, even though she'd irritated him with her hard head and boldness, he also had liked her because of it. She was pretty, no not pretty, beautiful, and she'd managed to turn him on, without even trying to or flirting. No one had done that before. If they'd simply met at a bar, he knew he would ask her out. Now it was impossible, they were fighting a case against each other! How the hell would he manage to concentrate?! If already now he was running different scenarios through his head of what he'd like to do to her? One case, Jake, he told himself, then she'll disappear. Frustrated at himself for how he was feeling, he ran a hand through his hair before reluctantly getting back to work. He didn't know that she was feeling the same as him.

The second their eyes had locked, she'd felt her knees go wobbly. And when they'd shaken hands, she'd felt sparks of desire run through her body. He was very handsome, and if he smiled a bit more often he'd be even more attractive. Maybe she should have accepted his deal, she realised, maybe she was just trying to impress him by refusing it. Well, she'd show him by winning that she was good; she hadn't missed the look of superiority he'd given her when she'd walked in. But for that to work she'd need to firmly push him out of her mind, even though her mind was imagining what could happen between them if…. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she walked headlong into a man. He quickly grabbed hold of her arm before she could topple over. Luckily, she didn't drop her file.

"I'm sorry!" she said, looking up at the older man.

"No, no, I'm sorry!" he said and then frowned, recognising her. "Oh, you're Katherine Barker, aren't you?"

"Yes, How do you know?"

"Well, my prosecutor, Jake, has a case against you…"

"Yeah, I've just met 'im", she smirked.

"I'm Henry, his boss, and I guess we'll be seeing enough of each other in court…"

Still smirking, she replied "…and I look forward to it! Hope you won't be too disappointed when I win!" Then she nodded and walked off.

Henry smiled after her. He liked her attitude; she was quite alike to Jake. Probably more hard headed than him, if that was possible. Pity, he thought, that she wasn't looking for a job…


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: so the next two chapters are about the case, but they are vital for the story 'cos I don't want it to seem like everything is happening at once..** **So sorry if it's a little bit boring... Enjoy : )**

**Disclaimers: I don't own Law and Order Uk...**

"So Jake, ready for the trial today?" Henry asked. They were due to leave in half an hour.

"Absolutely, Henry. His lawyer wants to argue that Tyler is mentally ill, but I've talked to Dr. Marsh about it. He's interviewed Tyler, and he said that Tyler is full of shame and rage, but he doesn't think he is psychotic. He thinks that Tyler simply wanted to get back at his wife for leaving him; _'I've killed myself and 15 others and it's all your fault for leaving me!'_"

"Yes, I think you are right. I mean he might have felt a little low about it, but not all people who feel a little low go and try to derail commuter trains!"

"I'm calling Joe up as a witness today, and Katherine Barker is calling up Tyler's doctor. I'm prepared for it. I will show the jury that Tyler is not mentally ill and that he knew full well what he was doing when he drove that car onto the tracks."

"Good…" Henry mused. "Let's go, then, shall we?" he added.

About one hour later, Jake stepped out of the changing room into the common room of the Old Bailey. He was wearing his robes already. He opened the box that contained his court wig, when Kate entered. She too, was wearing her robes. She smiled at him, confidently, and pulled on her wig. They didn't say anything to each other, so she exited, heading towards the courtroom. He followed her soon afterwards. When everyone had settled down and after both Jake and Kate had given their opening speech, the usher asked Joe, the first witness, to step up onto the stand. Joe did so, and after swearing on the bible that everything he would say would be the truth, Jake stood to question him. He asked him about what he saw that day at the crime scene and he asked him to explain what Finn Tyler had done.

"…there is evidence that Tyler drove that car onto the tracks. For some reason, he didn't stay in the car; he got out and watched the train crash into it. That crash caused 15 innocent people to lose their lives. 16 if you count unborn babies."

"How would you, as a police detective, interpret Mr. Tyler's actions?"

"He was trying to get away. He inflicted a wound to himself to blend in with the real victims, not to get caught. He knew full well what he was doing, I am sure of it."

Kate sprung up, "Objection! How is the witness sure that my client _'knew full well what he was doing'_? Does the witness posses the power to read mind?"

The judge nodded at her, and she sat down again. "The witness will confine himself to what he saw and knows, not what he thinks he know. They jury will disregard his last comment."

"No further question." Jake said, sitting down again.

He glanced at Kate, wondering what she would do. Part of him admired how good she looked in court clothes, while the other part of him tried to surpress these overwhelming emotions.

She stood again, straightening her robes with her small, white hands. He had a hard time focusing on what she was saying rather than thinking about what the wanted those hands to do to him.

"DS Hawkings, I understand this was your first case as a detective?"

"Yes."

"And that you tried to help a 7 year old boy, but sadly were unable to save him?"

"Yes. His name was Max Dale. I tried to perform CPR, but he died in my arms."

"Is it fair to say that you were angry at for what he'd done?"

"Yes, but I remained professional."

"You arrested , didn't you?"

"Yes, I did."

"Was any special treatment given to him while he was in custody?"

"No..."

"Are you quite sure about that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Joe closed his eyes, remembering, and realising what Kate was playing at.

"He was put on suicide watch." he said reluctantly.

"No further questions." Kate said triumphantly, sitting down again. Jake pursed his lips, not pleased at all by what she had just done.

The usher asked Joe to step down, and Kate's witness, Dr. Holdworth, to step up on the stand. She stood up to questio him.

"Dr. Holdworth, is it true that you perscribed antidepressants to Mr. Tyler? And that in some cases, these antidepressants can cause suicidal thoughts?"

"Yes, I did, and yes, they can in _some _cases cause suicidal thoughts."

"Did you know that Mr. Tyler was a prolific self harmer who needed professional help?"

"No, I didn't."

"If you knew he was a self harmer, would you have perscribed him the antidepressants?"

"No, of course not! That would have been ridiculous."

"Then it's a shame you didn't see a man in severe crisis, begging for help, for then 15 lives might have been saved...No further questions."

She sat down again before Jake could protest to that last comment. A bit frustrated, he stood up to cross examine the doctor.

"Dr. Holdsworth, why did Tyler want the antidepressants?"

"He didn't, actually. He wanted sleeping pills, but I'm not in the habit of dishing them out for no good reason."

"Why, because of the budget cuts?"

"No, because of Tyler's history of addiction."

Jake looked stunned, it was the first time he'd heard of an addiction with Tyler. This changed everything, and not nessesarily for the good.

"Mr. Tyler was addicted to drugs?"

"No, to alcohol. He was treated in rehab in 2002, and again earlier this year. That's the reason why he lost his last job, I think."

Jake nodded, and said "Nothing further." He sat down again.

The judge dismissed the jury for the day. Smiling a little smugly, Kate picked up her files and briefcase and walked out. She'd done an amazing job, they both knew the jury would now doubt if Tyler was really guilty, now that she'd shown them he was on suicide watch. Something which could be interpreted easily as mentally ill.

Jake, lost in his thoughts, also exited, with Henry. They were walking down a busy street towards the CPS building, each clutching a hot coffee, when Henry broke the silence.

"Katherine Barker is clever, she scored a hat trick out of Joe, the jury will think that if he was on suicide watch, he is mentally ill."

"Well, I guess it does look that way. But Henry, that doctor said that Tyler was fired from his job because of alcohol addiction?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I checked his job records, but there was no record of Tyler losing his job, or ever having one recently..."

"I'll call Ron and Joe, maybe they can look into it..."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: does anyone else wonder how and why exactly Kate joins the CPS?... Will explain more in chapter 8...**

**And by the way, thank you Beth from ToxThexMoonxAndxBack for your reviews, they are inspiring and encouraging : ) thank you, I really appreciate them : )**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Law and Order UK...**

"This is brilliant!" Jake told Ronnie while flipping through the papers he'd just gotten him.

"I'm sorry we didn't connect the dots immediately, but it was an off-the-records job, his brother employed him and..."

"paid him cash, I know, don't worry about it..."

"...the best part is that his brother's company was in charge of CCTV, including that of the train's company, and Tyler's job was to watch the footage of the gate _he_ crashed into just before driving onto the tracks!"

Jake smiled at Ronnie, and said "Now this changes everything, I can show the jury that Tyler was after revenge..."

In court, Jake called Daniel Haleton, Tyler's brother, up as a witness. After he'd sworn on the bible, Jake stood up to question him.

"Daniel Haleton, you are Mr. Tyler's brother, is that correct?"

"Yes, but we were split into different foster homes when we were little."

"Yet you were still in contact with him, you even gave him a job earlier this year?"

"Yes, I pitied him. He needed to provide for his family, and he'd fallen back into his habit of drinking. I even paid rehab for him."

"And did that help?"

"No, he was just as bad as when he came out. That's why I fired him, he was unreliable at work because of it…"

"Mr. Haleton, do you believe that this was a genuine suicide attempt?"

The man hesitated, looking apologetically towards his brother. "No. I think he was trying to get back at me."

"How is that so?"

"My company was providing CCTV for the train's company. He wanted to get me in trouble, to pay me back for firing him."

"No further questions." Jake said, sitting down. He glanced at Kate, smirking at her.

When the courtroom was dismissed, Kate managed to disappear before Jake could talk to her. He hurried after her.

"Miss Barker!" he called. She spun around to face him. He caught up with her, and a bit nervously she tucked strand of hair behind her ear. "No longer looking like he's mentally ill, this is looking like revenge only…"

She looked up at him, tilting her head, before replying "What, one can't be mentally ill and vengeful? How do you explain school shootings? Bullied, demoralised teenagers who are depressed, sometimes suicidal, seeking revenge."

"We both know this isn't the case here…"

She didn't reply, instead she started walking towards the exit. Somehow, he wasn't ready to let go of her yet, so he called after her, "What, no last words, Miss Barker?"

She turned around again, her small hands pulling her coat tighter around herself. "Tomorrow, I'm calling Tyler up as a witness, and I'll leave the last word to him…" She smiled and turned, exiting the Old Bailey. He stared after her for a moment, before heading to find Ron and Joe, to thank them for finding Haleton.

While walking away from court towards her flat, Kate's mind was on Jake, she couldn't help but wonder if under that shirt he had abs, he was so thin and he had a really good figure after all, when she walked straight into someone, again. She gasped as she felt a hot liquid soak her coat and seep into her shirt. Again, someone's hand clamped on her arm before she could topple over backwards.

"I'm so sorry!" Henry said, "Oh dear, I've dropped the coffee all over you!" He was holding a now empty polystyrene cup. She exhaled shakily. "Don't worry about it…" She pulled her now wet scarf off, and stuffed it into her bag. Noticing her shiver, Henry took his own scarf off and offered it to her. She smiled, surprised, and took it.

"I feel so guilty, let me but you something to drink.." he said.

"Thanks, I'd like that." He bought her a coffee, and walked with her for a while, still feeling guilty.

"Unfortunately, you are doing an amazing job! You're a brilliant defence barrister!"

She pulled a face. "Honestly, I don't why I became a defence barrister in the first place. Cos my father pushed me into it, I guess…."

He looked surprised. "You wish you weren't a lawyer?"

"No, no, I love being in court. But…"

"Would you rather prosecute than defend?"

She shivered, her hand covering her left arm, where she had a deep, jagged scar. Her boyfriend had attacked her after his brother, the one she'd been defending, lost his case in court. Luckily the police stopped him before he could injure her further, but since that case, she'd become wary of defending. Especially since most of the time, the defendants were criminals. Hardly ever they were really innocent.

"Yes, I think so." She told Henry, a bit shyly. She glanced at him, he was looking thoughtful. "Well, if you're interested, I'm looking to hire a new junior prosecutor, because my previous one left over a month ago…"

She looked stunned. "Are you offering me a job?"

"Yes, you are exactly what I'm looking for, young but excellent, you'd fit well in my team. You'd be working with Jake. Don't expect that you're immediately start prosecuting, but you'd be in court with him and building cases with him…" She smiled, not believing her ears.

"So, do you want the job?"

"Yes Henry, I do."

He beamed, even though he barely knew Kate and he didn't usually hire people without a second thought, he had a good feeling about her. "Excellent! I'll expect you in the office on Monday morning in three weeks' time, this case will be over by then. And again, I'm sorry for dropping that coffee on you…."

"I'm not sorry, I got landed a job after all!" she smiled at him, and he smiled back.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So today was my last day at school :'( and I'm gonna miss seeing my friends everyday. **

**(For my friend if she is reading this: (qed nirreferi ghall-mara ta' Enrique :P - _grazzi hafna talli tassew kont habiba kbira tul dawn is-snin u veru ha nimmisjak, peress li m'ahniex ha nkunu fl-istess skola minn issa 'l quddiem. sorry imma kelli aptit niddedikalek xi haga hawnekk :P_)**

**Ok sorry for that language change, and now to Chapter 5. Don't expect much, this is exactly like what happens in the show and is only a filler chapter (sorry Dick Wolf for taking direct conversation from the show). So patience patience, story picks up after this and chapter 6...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order UK... **

Two weeks later, the jury was ready to give the verdict.

In that time, Kate had signed all the paperwork to become employed with the CPS, but didn't tell Jake that they'd soon be official colleagues. She'd wait till after the trial. She'd called Tyler up as a witness, and showed the jury how he was emotionally unstable. Jake, unintentionally, had helped too, for when he cross examined Tyler, he had got a bit angry and carried away. This outburst had caused Tyler to start crying like a baby, something which was an advantage to Kate's behalf. Still, she wasn't sure who of them would win the case. She knew a lot of people wanted to see Tyler convicted. So, of course, the atmosphere in the courtroom was a very tense one.

The usher asked the jury's spokesperson,

"Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed?"

"Yes, we have."

"On count one, of the charges of murder in the first degree of Max Dale, how do you find the defendant, Finn Luke Tyler, guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty. But guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility."

"On count two…"

Jake couldn't believe it. He glanced over at Kate, who met his gaze. She offered a small smile, but didn't look smug. Of course she felt proud of herself for winning, it had not been as easy case; Jake had brought up some very compelling and reasonable arguments. But her arm tingled, and her hand immediately covered the spot where under her clothes she had that nasty, jagged scar. What if Jake was right and Tyler really did deserve 15 life sentences? She suddenly felt really glad that she was switching sides and becoming a prosecutor, she realised.

As people started exiting the courtroom, Jake found himself waiting for Kate, even though he couldn't bear the thought of her rubbing in her win. As she finished gathering up her things, she walked over to him.

He smirked at her before saying, "Proud of yourself, Miss Barker?"

She ignored his question as they made their way out of the courtroom. "Tyler will get the treatment he needs in hospital… The judge gave him what he needs to get better, a hospital order." Why was she feeling the need to reassure herself?

"He can apply for release in 6 months. He deserved 15 life sentences."

She looked up at him, biting her lip. "Maybe he did."

"Oh, so you agree that he really was guilty?" he asked, surprised.

"I think he did a terrible thing that could have been averted. Millions are spent of prisons each year while mental health takes the brunt of the courts…."

Jake sighed. They'd arrived to the stairs leading down and out of court. Part of him was disappointed that the case was over and they wouldn't be seeing each other again. He didn't see Henry walking up behind them. He had a gift of walking up unseen.

"Well, Miss Barker, it's been fun…"

She smiled brightly, but before she could say anything, Henry interrupted.

"Oh, have you told him the good news already?" Jake frowned, confused. What good news?

"Nah, not yet, I didn't think it would be fair during the trial, in case it distracted him."

"Apart from your appalling taste in footwear, there isn't anything you can do to distract me, Miss Barker." He lied. The way she was tucking a strand of hair behind her ear was distracting him already.

"Kate. You should definitely start calling me Kate."

Henry added, "Especially since you two 'ill be sharing an office. Kate's joining the CPS, Alesha's replacement. Who's up for a celebratory down at the pub?"

Kate smiled, "I'll be down in a minute, I need a quick word with my client…" and trying not to laugh at Henry's happy beam or Jake's bemused expression, she turned on her heel and left in the direction of the court's cells.

She was feeling ridiculously happy and calm, for some reason. And there were butterflies in her stomach. Probably due to the fact that she and Jake were now officially partners, and that they'd be seeing each other every day…

"Kate!" she heard someone call. It was Ronnie, and he told her "If you could just get your client to sign these papers…they're about his stay at the court cells..."

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Thanks, that's very helpful."

She smiled at him before walking into the secure unit, as an officer unlocked the gate for her. "Cell number 8" he instructed her. She walked over. It didn't immediately register that she was looking at a pair of shoes, at her eyelevel. Her gaze travelled upwards, and to her horror she saw Tyler hanging from the ceiling.

Ronnie was outside, talking to the guard about arrangements of Tyler's stay, they'd both agreed to let him stay longer in the court cells as there were a lot of angry people outside. "..Can't blame them really. They're mostly family members of the victims, upset by the not-guilty-of-murder verdict…" the guard said quietly to Ronnie, when the alarm bell of the cells went off, filling the corridors with its horrid sound. The guard immediately rushed towards Tyler's cell, pushing Kate roughly out of the way. "Tyler.. Tyler's dead…" she called to Ronnie, out of breath.

After she'd given her statement to the police, Joe walked towards her. Even though he wasn't happy at her because of her winning the case, he felt pity for her. "Hey, I'm sorry you had to see that." She smiled for a second before looking at the ground. He touched her arm, but she pulled away, without knowing he'd placed his hand right on that scar. "Ron told me you've just transferred into CPS, and this is the first thing you meet with… Why don't you go down to the pub? Jake and Henry always go there after a case…"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'll go…" she mumbled and left, walking slowly, her shoulders hunched slightly. Ronnie patted Joe's arm. "Just like you, a hard start into her new career…"

"Karma? That Tyler's dead?"

"In a way…"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm gonna publish two chapters today, so we can finish the Tyler thing. And also cos it's a public holiday today here, we call it "Jum il-Helsien" (freedom day). just a random fact :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Law and Order.**

Kate walked into the pub, still feeling numb at what had happened. She immediately spotted Henry and Jake. She walked over, nervously, her hand resting protectively on her other arm.

"Ah, Kate, there you are. What took you so long?" Henry asked. She didn't reply immediately, and slowly the feeling that something bad had happened reached the two men. Eventually, looking aghast, she said, "Tyler's dead. 'E hung 'imself, and I found him…"

Jake muttered, "Shit!", while Henry looked shocked. He got up. "This is not good. I'd better get back to the office, media will be all over this…"

Jake stood up too. "I'll come with you."

"No, you stay here and but Kate lunch." He handed Jake his credit card. "I'll see you in the office on Monday morning, Kate…" With that, he hurried off.

"What would you like to eat?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm not hungry. I'll just have a pint."

He nodded and turned to the bar to buy her a pint and a portion of chips for himself. She sat down, feeling mentally drained. The T.V. by the bar was on and reporters were interviewing Gavin Dale, father of Max, one of the 15 train crash victims. "… I'm not sorry that Tyler's dead, he deserved to die. After what 'ed done! I can't believe he was found not guilty and that his defence barrister got him off the hook, how could anyone want to defend someone like him? I'm glad he's dead, it gives me some closure…" Jake glanced towards Kate, across the pub. The nauseous look on her face said that she'd heard everything.

He felt sorry for her, her client had just killed himself after all… part of him was still trying to process everything that had happened that morning. Everything seemed surreal, first the verdict, then finding out he was going to be working together with Kate, and now this…

He felt ridiculously happy that he'd get to see Kate on an almost daily basis now, but he also knew he would have trouble concentrating… A _lot _of trouble… So he vowed to himself that no matter what happened, he would ignore whatever it was he was feeling towards her, so that they'd both manage to work. And that was not going to be an easy task.

The bartender then handed him the chips and pint. Jake walled over to Kate.

"Thanks" she mumbled, drowning half of her glass in one go. She was feeling miserable now. Before she'd found Tyler dead, she'd felt the total opposite.

He smiled at her, and picked up his phone which had started ringing. He pressed a button to silence it, not wanting to answer Cara.

"Not easy, eh, what you had to see…"

"No…" she agreed, raking a hand through her hair.

"All the drama I get when I'm a defence barrister… That happen to prosecutors too?"

He frowned, realising she must have been through other hard instances in her career. Her bitterness made him wonder if something had happened to her.

"Not really… First time something like this has happened…"

His phone buzzed again. Annoyed, he put the call of silence again. Curious, she craned her neck to see the name of the caller.

"You're popular! Who's Cara?" she asked.

"My mother's nurse."

"Oh, is she ill?"

"No, she's dead."

Kate looked shocked. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. She wasn't exactly the nicest person ever. She was a teenager when she had me, and I think she never forgave me for destroying her future plans…She wasn't around much during my childhood…"

"She was young when she died, then?"

"Yeah, she had brain cancer."

Kate looked sympathically at hem. She reached over and squeezed his hand, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"Why did you suddenly switch sides? From defence to prosecution?" he asked, curious, abruptly changing the subject.

Her arm tingled, and he frowned when he noticed her cover it with her hand. "I was bored of all the fake wining and dining…" She made it sound like a question, like she was uncertain that was the right answer, so he knew this wasn't the real reason.

"What's the real reason? I mean, for example, it's like suddenly changing doctors after you've been to the same one for years... You don't change just for the fun of it, you change cos something happened..."

She didn't reply truthfully, again, something which didn't go unnoticed by him. "Maybe this 'ill help me sleep better at night…" She reached over and stole on of his fries, dunking it in the ketchup on the plate before eating it.

He sighed, realising that she didn't want to talk about it. Then she picked up her glass and poured the rest of the drink down her throat. He stared at her for a long moment, wondering what she was hiding from him. She met his gaze as she placed the now empty glass back on the table. Neither said anything, they just stared at each other. Kate started thinking how much she liked his eyes, hair and smirk, and she promised herself never to get drunk when he was around, for God knows what she'd do and regret later. After a while, he stood up and excused himself. She watched him walk towards the men's room. He'd left his phone on the table. After a minute of waiting in silence, its screen lit up, Cara was phoning again. She bit her lip, hesitating, but then picked it up and answered.

"Hello, Jacob Thorne's phone…"

"Oh, hello, is Jake there?"

"No, not at the moment…"

"Well, will you please tell him that if he changes his mind, the funeral starts on Monday at half past 8 in the morning."

"I…"

"Thank you so much, I've been trying to reach him all day. Goodbye, Jake's girlfriend."

"I…" Cara cut. Kate removed the phone from her ear, staring at it in wonder, before realising that Jake was towering over her. He looked extremely shocked, and took the phone from her. He didn't say a word, and made no move to sit down again.

"Jake, I'm sorry about that, but it was ringing and...Anyways, your mum's nurse just wanted to know if you're coming to the funeral on Monday…"

His eyes widened at that.

"She told you that?!"

"Yeah, she just came out with it, she thought I was your girlfriend…"

Jake looked astounded.

"I'm sorry, it was none of my business to answer your phone." She said, pushing her hair out of her face.

"I'll see you on Monday, Kate." He turned and walked away, leaving her sitting there feeling terrible and guilty at what she'd done.

He wasn't really angry at her, he was angry at himself because he knew he'd sounded horrible to her, she'd only been trying to help. And just leaving her, like that, did not help either. He'd say to something to her on Monday, to show her he wasn't upset at her. In the meantime, Kate thought to herself, _way to go, I'm just like all the Barkers in my family, I ruin everything. _She walked back home slowly, angry at herself, thinking that now Jake probably hated her.


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is about the beginning of friendship between Jake and Kate. Tomorrow's chapter is going to be a really cute one between Kate and Jake,(****in my opinion at least)**** where they become closer friends...**

**(Still don't own Law and Order UK)**

The next Monday morning, Jake was sitting at his desk, nervously waiting for Kate to arrive. He was sorry he'd reacted badly and let it out on her. He had spent the whole weekend thinking about her.

"Knock knock!" he heard her say. She was standing at the door, holding a big box with her items in it. He looked up at her, smiling slightly. She walked tentatively in, and nodded towards the empty desk. Where Alesha used to sit.

"This one's mine?" she asked. "Yes" he replied, before looking down at the files in front of him. Now that she was here, he couldn't think of a word to say to her. Maybe it was due to the suit she was wearing; it really showed off her slim yet curvy figure. She placed the box on the desk that was now hers. Annoyed by his silence, she said,

"Well, it's going to be fun working together if you're going to be holding a grudge against me…"

"I don't hold grudges, but I do value my privacy."

"I can apologise again if you would help" she offered, while starting to unpack the items in the box. Then remembering something, she said, "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be at you r mother's funeral?"

"I'm not going, not that it's any of your business…"

"Sorry, I'm dead nosy", she sighed. She pulled out a frame form her box, and stared at the picture inside for a moment. It was an old photograph, showing two young blond girls. They were both grinning from ear to ear, they had their arms around each other, and one was evidently quite a bit older than the other one.

He stood up and said "I'm going for a coffee." He walked towards the door, paused, and went back to his desk, picking up his phone.

"Can't be too sure!" he smirked, his tone teasing. As he left, she exhaled, smiling slightly. He didn't sound angry, she thought. She quickly unpacked the rest of her items. Then, not really knowing what to do, she decided to go and find Jake, and ask him if she was meant to be working on something. She found him standing at a vending machine.

He was punching it but to no avail, no coffee came. He swore under his breath, this machine was only stealing his money.

"Have you tried kickin' it?" her voice startled him, he hadn't realised that she'd been watching him.

"No…"

"Here, let me do it, we had one like those at me last chambers…Kicking it always worked." She walked over, and kicked it. Nothing happened. She tried again, but the machine gave neither coffee nor Jake's money back.

"Hmm, this isn't working. How about we go out and get some coffee? On me, of course. You can show me where's good around here…"

"Ok", he replied, smiling. He could then show her he wasn't angry at her. They walked towards the exit of the CPS together.

xxxxx

"Ronnie, come and 'av a look at this!" Joe called. He'd been looking at the CCTV footage of the court cell corridor. "We know that someone must have given Tyler that noose to hang 'imself, he was searched before he entered court…"

"Yeah? Have you found anything?" Ron asked while biting into a sausage roll. Joe pulled a face, how could Ron eat something like that for breakfast?

"Well, I think that it's a little suspicious that both Gavin Dale and William Braxton passed his corridor and entered his cell at two separate times…"

"Hang on a minute; those two are both relatives of the victims of the crash, aren't they?" Ronnie frowned. Joe nodded, "Exactly."

Ron's phone then rang. "Hello…yeah…we'll be down in a minute…" he cut, before telling Joe, "Joy wants us down in her lab, she's got something for us."

The two men made their way to her lab.

"Ronnie, Joe!" she greeted them, and waved them over to the examination table, on which Tyler's body lay. "Look at what I've found; these fingernail marks at his throat indicate that _someone _strangled him."

Frowning, Ronnie asked "Couldn't they have been caused by Tyler trying to free himself? It wouldn't have been the first time that he got cold feet…"

She shook her head. "The marks are in the wrong direction for that. Plus, how would you explain the bruising on his back? This wasn't suicide Ron, it was murder. His attacker was on Tyler's back, pulling the noose around his neck, hence those fingernail marks."

"And we have two main suspects already" Joe said with a sigh.

"Then let's go pick them up…"

Xxxxx

Kate and Jake were walking down the street, each carrying a hot coffee. He was really amused at her effort to try make things up between them, but for the benefit of his amusement he didn't tell her that. He loved her bubbliness and the fact that they could not run out of things to say to each other. They talked a lot about cases, comparing what they'd achieved, getting to know each other a bit more.

They stopped at a bridge, staring down at the view in front of them, when she said,

"Can I ask you one more question about your mum and I'll drop it, promise?"

"When you say 'drop it', you mean for today only, don't you?"

She grinned, deciding not to answer that, before asking anyway, "Don't you think you owe it to her to be at her funeral today?"

"I'm grateful that she gave birth to me, with a lot of convincing not to abort me from her mother, and that's where it ends. She didn't love me, and yet I still visited her once a week when she became ill. So no, I don't owe her anything."

"But surely there must be one good memory of her, once when things were ok between the two of you? I mean, my parents were rubbish at being parents, but I have a couple of good memories…Not hundreds but still..."

"I'd love to tell you that she hugged me on my first day at school, nursed me through chicken pox and watched games of Manchester United with me, but it never happened. My gran took care of me until she died, I was 12 then, and from then onwards I was on my own. She was never at home…"

She smiled sympatically, looked like they both had a hard childhood.

"And anyway, it's too late, funeral's over by now…"

Kate looked up at him, and while brushing a strand of hair out of her face, she said, "It's never too late, Jake." She started walking away from the bridge.

xxxxxxxxx

How it had happened he didn't know. But there he was, standing over his mother's freshly dug grave. He sniffed; placing the flowers Kate had picked and paid for from the shop, by the headstone. Regret filled him; he wished they'd had a better relationship.

"At least you tried." Kate's quiet voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She placed her hand on his arm. "I didn't. Not after…" she shook her head. He looked down at her. "What do you mean? What happened then?"

"It's a long story…"

"I'm listening…"

"We should get back to the office…"

He sighed, she was right. However, he realised that she was avoiding his question. Just as she'd done when he asked her why she was joining the CPS. They started walking back, and he said,

"This is a strange start to a friendship…" he smirked down at her and continued, "…first you crash into my world with Tyler's case"

She laughed, "Then I_ win _that case and decide to settle into your world... Of all the people you could have got stuck in the trenches with…" she teased.

"…and I get lumbered with you! A nosy person who will do anything to find out about my personal life but won't say a word about hers…" he finished. She smiled up at him, "I have a feeling you'll be _lumbered _with me for a very long time, Jacob Thorne."

He smirked, not minding that idea at all.

xxxxxxx

"There you two are! Where have you been?" Henry asked.

"Jake was just showing me around the area." She said. "Sorry Henry, we should have told you before we disappeared" Jake added.

"No, no, it's ok, there wasn't much work to be done, for once; I just wanted to tell you about Tyler… it wasn't suicide, his death, it was murder. Gavin Dale gave him that noose, but William Braxton, his mate, came later on and finished him off…"

Kate looked stunned; her hand crept unconsciously to her left arm. She zoned out as Henry started to talk about what he thought of the whole situation. Somehow halfway through he managed to change the topic to healthy eating. After droning on for about another 10 minutes, he said "Anyways was nice chatting with you two for a couple of minutes, but I have to go. I have a press conference to give…" He left them, and silence was restored in the office.

"Kate?" Jake asked gently, noticing her unusual quietness. Since he met her she hadn't shut up once, so it was weird that she was just staring blankly at her desk.

"This is all my fault. I should 'av never taken that case, maybe he would 'av been found guilty. At least, even though he'd be in prison, he'd be alive, and not dead. Now William is going to spend the rest of his life in prison for taking justice into his own hands…"

Jake smiled kindly at her, "Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it now. And it isn't your fault; you were just doing your job."

She sighed and sat down at her desk, her sad green eyes focusing on her frame. She hated it when she couldn't do something about a situation she didn't like.

He had a feeling that those green eyes had probably seen too many bad things for one lifetime, and he wondered what exactly she'd been through…


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: What nice weather we have today, and we baked gluten free _figolli _so I'm in an Easter-y spirit! Anyways, here's chapter 8 (already!), enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Law and Order UK (I only own the DVD box set of series 1-4, it arrived today finally :D )...**

6 months had passed since Kate and Jake had started working together, and yet she was still a total mystery to him. Somehow, she always managed to get him to talk about something she wanted to know about him. However, when he tried to get her to talk about her past, she'd always change the subject or say they should be working, not talking.

They were getting along well together. Sure, they often argued about useless things, because they were both too hard headed to admit defeat, but in the end they almost always managed to win the case they were working on. Henry was delighted by their success, and he knew he'd made the right choice to hire Kate. Her previous experience as a defence barrister came in handy when prepping for a trial, in every aspect. She'd tell Jake what she would ask witnesses if she were defending, or what she'd mention in her opening and closing speeches. That way they could prepare for everything. Henry also realised that since Kate had joined the team (as Joe liked to call it), Jake was more outgoing, her bubbly character wearing on him. Henry now had a new hobby; too, whenever he was bored of commenting on articles about global warming or had read enough on Tumblr and there wasn't anything new on Facebook, he'd sometimes press his ear to the door separating their offices. He loved listening to this playful banter, and he'd smirk to what they were saying. He wished there were a peephole, too, but oh well…

Jake picked up a huge pile of files for Kate to sort through, and carried them over to her desk and placing them there. Her back was to him; she was trying, to no avail, to reach another file on top of a shelf. He smirked while reaching up to lift it down for her, his chest lightly touching her back.

"Shortie!" he teased. She turned to face him and narrowed her eyes at him, giving him an _if looks could kill _look. They were standing dangerously close together.

He quickly changed the subject. "So now that the Georgia and Rufus case is over and lost, do you want me to look Cosby up for you?"

While working on that previous case, Kate had seemed very eager about Cosby, the defence barrister of the two defendants. When he'd come to bargain about the plea, there had been a bit of a cold and tense atmosphere between Jake and Cosby. Throughout the whole meeting, Kate's eyes studied Cosby intensely, and when he left (without them having reached an agreement, needless to mention), Kate breathlessly and eagerly asked Jake, "Ok, who is he and is he single?". During the trial, Jake protectively observed Kate and Cosby's flirting interactions, and realised that he felt jealous. Especially since Cosby seemed interested in Kate too. Jake didn't like this, she deserved someone better than him. He knew Cosby would use her to his advantages and spit her out when he was done with her. But luckily, she seemed to calm down about him as the trial proceeded. Now he was just testing the waters to make sure she was no longer interested in him.

She pulled a face at him. "Nah, I don't really do posh boys Jakey." He laughed at that, and then bent his head towards her ear, and they were so close to another that he could smell the sweet strawberry scent from her hair. "I'm warning you, if you ever call me 'Jakey' again, I'll give Cosby your phone number and home address…" he said, trailing off smugly.

"You wouldn't!" She protested, while placing her hand on his chest and gently pushing him away to look into his eyes. She could feel his heart thudding against the palm of her hand, and she liked that feeling, so she left her hand right there.

"Try me" he smirked.

"Don't you dare, Jake! He was so annoying, even more annoying that you if that's possible! If you give him my number and address, I'll probably have to murder him to get rid of him. Do you know how many hints he dropped that he'd like dinner and a night cap after the trial?!"

"Well, that's your fault for flirting with him in the first place. Besides, as if you'd be capable of murder!"

"Annoy me a bit more and we'll find out right now, Jake…" she threatened, her tone serious and her eyes narrowed.

He laughed at that, but before he could think of a witty comment to say back, the office door opened and Henry walked in. His eyes widened as he saw how close together they were standing to each other, and how Kate had her hand on Jake's chest. He raised an eyebrow as the two hurriedly stepped away from each other.

"What's going on in here?"

Jake laughed.

"Jake thinking he's being funny..." Kate said.

"and Kate threatening it kill me... But what's new?" Jake said, joking.

"I'll tell you what's new, that lost case against Rufus and Georgia in court! What happened?! You were robbed in there by Cosby…" he started rambling about their failure in court; it was their first loss together. They smiled at each other while pretending to be listening to what Henry was saying.

xxxxxxx

"So, why aren't you interested in Cosby anymore?" They were sat at their usual bar, as they often did after work. They needed a drink after Henry was done lecturing them about some case, golf, healthy eating or the benefits of using the tube rather than a car. He would always go on and on and on… If it weren't for the fact that listening to his lectures was dead boring, one could almost feel pity for him, since it didn't seem like he had anything better to do…

She grinned at him and tilted her head. "Cos I'm interested in another guy. Who, by the way, is _much _handsomer and funnier than him…"

"Who is he? Do I know him?"

"Yes, you do, but I ain't tellin' ya who 'e is!"

"Why not?"

She just shrugged, smiling. She quickly changed the subject. "My wild yet still more-mature-than-me friend is coming round mine this weekend…"

"When you say more-mature-than-me, do you mean she doesn't complain as much as you do, doesn't like Uggs and arrives at work on time?"

She nodded and corrected, "He... And pretty much, yeah. But hang on a second, what do you mean, I complain?!"

He pretended to consider it. "Hmm, let's see. You complain every time a defendant won't plead guilty, or when we get stitched up in court, or when you forget something at home, when I'm 'being annoying', which is often according to what you say, whenever you're bored, when I ignore you, which also seems to be quite often, when it's too cold, when you have cramps, which is fairly regular, every 3 to 4 weeks I'd say, when…"

"Ok, ok, I get your point. I can justify most of them though…" She grinned.

He smirked, "Of course you can! You're a lawyer after all..."

"And when you asked if he doesn't like Uggs, do you mean that you don't like them either?"

"Ugh, no of course not, they look really ugly…"

She rolled her eyes. "If you ever tried wearing heels, you would love Uggs too, I never came to terms with heels really… No, but seriously, I hope you don't mind but I've invited my friend to join us at the bar on Friday. Well I invited him to join me but there'll be you there too…"

She sounded a bit nervous. He interrupted her rambling with a reassuring smile. "Sure thing, I don't mind. I can't wait to meet him, can't believe someone would willingly be close friends with you! I'd run away the second I saw your craziness if I were him." He teased.

"Hey! Besides, you are a willing friend of mine, aren't you? You didn't run…"

"I know, I pity myself too. If I could, I would run. Unfortunately, we are stuck in the same office for most of each week... Can't really run away now can I?"

She knew he was only teasing; she could hear it in his voice and see it the way his eyes sparkled. She pretended to be offended.

"Com'on, just joking. Even though you _are_ crazy..."

He reached over and touched her arm, and she flinched as though he'd raised his hand to hit her, trying to pull it away from him. This was not the first time he'd noticed her react like that, so without thinking he closed his hand around her arm, not letting it go. He tugged it towards him, and then looked up at her. Her arm was now stretched on the table towards him. She was frozen and didn't say anything to stop him, but her eyes were wary. Their playful teasing had all of a sudden escalated into a serious atmosphere.

He looked down at her arm again, and slowly undid the button, of her long sleeved shirt, at her wrist. She just watched him, her heart beating fast. His fingers at her wrist could feel the sudden elevated heartrate, making him wonder what exactly was under her sleeve that made her this nervous about him finding out.

Part of her wanted him to find out, another part of her wanted him to stop while another part of her was simply enjoying the feel of his cold fingers brushing against her skin.

Slowly, he pushed her sleeve up, till it reached her elbow. Then, he took her small wrist in his hand (it was so small that he could touch his thumb with his pointer finger easily) and turned her arm over, revealing her pale forearm. He sucked in a deep breath in horror at the scar there was. It was jagged and pink, running crookedly from the crook of her elbow till almost up to her wrist, marring the otherwise flawless creamy skin. He let go of her wrist, only to pull her arm further towards him. He leaned closer to her, and gently traced the shape of the scar with his fingertips. She shivered but didn't mind, actually it felt really pleasant and sent shivers along her spine. Finally, he looked up at her.

"How did this happen?" he asked while rubbing his thumb along the middle of scar where he could feel that her skin was uneven and puckered because of it. She blinked before quietly saying,

"It happened a year and a half ago. My ex-boyfriend, Max, had a brother who was accused of a stabbing, and he asked me to defend. I believed he was innocent, because I was in love with his Max, I guess. I didn't think anyone related to him was capable of something so vile. How naïve of me… Anyways, his brother was found guilty by the jury. When he heard the verdict, he started screaming at me, saying that I'd let him down, that I'd let Max down, and that I'd pay for this. I left the courtroom feeling guilty and shaken at his words. Max walked up to me, right outside the courtroom. He was angry, said I'd betrayed his thrust, that it was my fault that his brother would spend long years in prison. He pulled out a knife and, and did that. Police stopped him; he was going to kill me… Kind of ironic, both brothers in prison for attempted knife murder. "

She met his gaze, almost shyly.

"I'm sorry." He said. "This why you changed to prosecution?" she nodded.

"Mainly. But also cos I was fed up of constantly doing what I was told. My whole life was 'Don't help Beth, don't go out with him, don't find me just let me go, don't become a solicitor, become a barrister, don't do prosecution, defence pays better, don't sleep with him, don't do this and don't do that'. And no matter what I did it was never good enough. After what Max did to me, I became even more wary of defending, cos I became more aware that I was mostly defending criminals. So, when I got the opportunity, I immediately changed sides."

He smiled, "For the record, I'm glad you switched sides, I like working with you. Even though you can be annoying someti- well most of the time..."

She smiled back, and bit her lip at the tingling sensation she felt when he stroked along the scar one last time, and then gently tugged the sleeve back down her arm, hiding the scar from view. He closed the button, and took her hand in both of his, squeezing it, before finally letting go completely.

"Who's Beth?" he asked, curious.

She sighed, "Any chance you're gonna buy me another drink?" Realising that she'd already said more than she wanted to, he dropped it, and did as she asked him.

As he got up to order her a pint, she couldn't help but wonder why she'd just told him all of that. She'd never talked about it to anyone before, and she knew he wouldn't have pushed her if she hadn't told him, just like he immediately dropped it when he asked about Beth and she (rather un-subtly) changed the subject. Truth was, she trusted him. They'd really become close friends, and she was extremely glad about that.

When he handed her the drink, she smiled brightly, "Thanks, Jake!". She was feeling so much better now that she'd told him.

He smiled back, happy at the change in atmosphere (now it was one at ease), and said, "Anything for you, sweetcheeks!"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N** **right, chapter 9 here :) enjoy...**

**disclaimer : dick wolf is the lucky person that owns all the law and orders...**

Jake was waiting at the pub for Kate and her friend to arrive. She had left work early to pick her friend up from the airport, and he was feeling very eager to meet him. Suddenly, he spotted them. Kate had her arm linked with a very tall man's, their height difference was comical. They weaved their way around the people towards him.

"Hi, Kate and…" he trailed off.

"Andy!" the man answered. He smiled at him and shook his hand. He could see what Kate had meant with 'wild'. Andy's pale blue eyes were full of excitement, he seemed very energetic and his unruly light brown curly hair bounced up and down every time he moved.

"I'm.." Jake began.

"Wait, the only logical explanation is that you are Jake. You're the only man she ever talks about!" he grinned at Kate and said to her "You weren't exaggerating, he is _very _handsome!"

Jake laughed at Kate's _kill me now! expression_ and said "Didn't know she talks about me... Drink?" he offered the two of them.

"A pint, please!" Kate said quickly, and Andy said "Me too, please", amused at how quickly Kate had jumped at the change of subject.

"How long have the two of you known each other?" Jake asked, as they seemed to be very close friends.

"For years, since primary school", Kate replied, smiling at Andy, who, also smiling added "We've always been inseparable. Everyone used to say that one day we'll get married..."

"something which won't happen." Kate told Jake, noticing that particular I-want-more-information look.

"Why?" He asked. Laughing, Andy explained "Let's just say that the probability that I get married to you is higher than the probability that I get married to Kate..." Jake nodded, understanding.

"We drove our teachers crazy…" Kate said, remembering her school days.

"But it was always you who was in trouble. Luckily you've calmed down, a bit anyways, since then..." Andy said.

"You didn't tell him whose fault that was…" Kate said.

"It was my fault, cos I always dared her to do stuff. She always did them, she never said no to the challenge… She was always the man in our duo, and I the woman... I even used to plait her hair! She couldn't care less about her appearance, something which used to annoy me..." Andy explained to Jake.

"Yeah, he even decided to cut my hair for me when I was 6, said I needed a trim... And I ended up from hair halfway down my back to hair that barely reached my jaw!...But at least I was never in serious trouble…"

Andy raised his eyebrows in disbelief before pointing out, "Remember when we were 18? You got arrested!"

"What?!" Jake said, his eyes almost popping out of his head. Shaking her head, Kate protested, "You're not telling him the whole story! They immediately un-arrested me again, they'd made a mistake!"

Grinning at his friend's embarrassment, Andy explained, "Well, it happened one day when she bought herself a new smart phone. When we came out of the shop, she proudly waved the box to me and said 'My first one!' A passing police officer thought she meant it was the first one she ever stole, so he asked her to drop it and said that he was going to arrest her for theft. Obviously, she wasn't having any of that, was she? She's so hard headed… Anyways, she refused to give him her phone, saying it was ridiculous, where was the evidence against her? She even fought him off when he tried to grab it from her. In the end, he had to handcuff her to restrain her, and he even said them words 'I'm arresting you on suspicion of theft…' Then, she told him to open her purse, where she had the receipt. You should have seen the officer's expression! He let her go, and apologised over and over, and said she was not arrested anymore. And all that time I stood watching and laughing. I've never laughed that hard in my life since that day! I had cramps from all the laughing."

Jake burst out laughing, and Kate blushed. He said "You never told me this, Kate, this is so hilarious!"

Andy said "What's also hilarious is ..."

Kate interrupted, knowing that her friend would go on forever about their childhood mischiefs. And some of the stories that Andy loved telling were rather embarrassing. "Andy, enough. I think he gets the idea of how crazy I _was_…" Jake laughed."You still are!" Andy and Jake corrected her at the same time.

Jake and Andy started talking to each other as if they'd known each other for years rather than minutes, no need for any ice to be broken. Kate, who was sitting between them, stared from one to the other, smiling at how well they were getting along, not minding the fact that they barely glanced at her. She couldn't blame Jake, after spending whole days with her only, he enjoyed male company too.

After a while, her phone rang. She excused herself and answered it. After she cut, she turned around to Jake and Andy.

"Guys, I'm really sorry but my neighbour needs help, I've got to go…"

Jake looked rather disappointed, and Andy asked "Already?"

"You can stay here and come home when you're done; you know where I live after all. Just don't tell him any embarrassing stories about me!"

Andy laughed, "I won't, promise!"

Kate waved and left. Before she exited the pub, she glanced back to see Jake and Andy engaged eagerly in a conversation again. She sighed, hoping Andy would keep his promise, and hurried off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Thanks, Kate, you came here so quickly." The young woman told her, while sitting down on her sofa, trying not to groan in pain. Kate sat down next to her.

"Well, you should be fine. That injection will last you for a while. Don't worry; it was nothing serious, next time take your insulin immediately. Luckily you called me before you fainted!"

The woman smiled. Her name was Becky, and she had an autoimmune condition and was required to often inject herself with insulin because she would become under sugared quickly. Only sometimes she realised too late that she needed her injection, and was then too weak to get it and inject herself. In fact, it was the third time she'd called Kate for her help since she had moved into the block of flats where Kate lived.

"What would I do without you? You are a really great friend, Kate. Did I interrupt what you were doing? It is a Friday night after all…"

"Oh, I was just at the pub with my mates…but don't worry about it..."

Becky patted her hand.

"I'm gonna miss you when I move to university in Cardiff..." her eyelids dropped, tired from the fainting and being so under sugared a short while ago. Soon, she fell asleep.

With a sigh, Kate stood up, she left to go to her flat, one floor down. She didn't really have anything to do, so she decided to have a shower. When she got out an hour later, the doorbell rang. She frowned; it couldn't be Andy, surely? It was only 9 in the evening, and she'd expected her friend to arrive home much later.

To her surprise, it was Andy.

"Hey Andy, wasn't expecting you to come already.. What did you guys talk about."she asked suspiciously, letting him in.

"After you left we continued talking about you…I didn't mention anything embarrassing, no need for you to worry… You were the only thing we had in common after all, so after the topic 'you' we ran out of things to say..."

"Well, that definitely explains why you're home so soon, if you didn't mention any stories! You'd be still talking in a decade...one could write a book about those!"

"Give yourself some credit, Kate! He really likes you, you know. I can tell from the way he talks about you..."

"...and you were bloody embarrassing, telling about how I got 'arrested'!" She continued talking as if she hadn't heard his last comment.

"You're avoiding my statement... Do you like him? Cos whenever we phone or chat you mention him, so what's going on?" Andy grinned at his friend, immediately noticing the redness creeping into Kate's cheeks. The same redness he'd seen in Jake's when he'd asked him if he and Kate were together.

"If I'd admit to anything, I might as well be shooting myself in the foot, Andy...So, fifth amendment!"

"Ooh, so yes you do like him! But honestly, from what I've seen today, I know he's just like you, too hard headed to admit anything, so probably he won't take the first step…"

"Andy!" Kate protested.

"…So you should do something to catch his attention, like wearing some really sexy heels… Not those stupid Uggs! Right, tomorrow we are going shoe shopping!" Andy declared, laughing at Kate's incredulous expression (somehow, he enjoyed shoe shopping more than Kate). "You will love me when he'll notice you cos of the shoes I'll pick, you'll see… Now, let's watch some Big Bang Theory, shall we?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: if I don't post in the next few days, it's cos we re gonna be on holiday :) we ll see, depends on if I have time... **

**Disclaimer: I don't own law and order UK.**

There was a knock at the office door. Kate frowned; she was not expecting company, especially not at this time. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone.

Ronnie walked in, watching as Kate took a swig from her beer.

"Kate, mind if we talk?"

"Not you as well, Ronnie. I already know I've disappointed everyone."

Ron sighed, he had heard from Henry about Kate's huge 'mess up' (actually, he'd been lectured about it).

The CPS was handling a case against Ruth Pendle and Neil Jenkins, who were being tried for the murder of Richard Peters. Ruth and Neil were the biological parents of Leo, the adopted son of Richard Peters. They were seen on CCTV footage minutes after the attack on Peters, with Leo. They had kidnapped their son, and were later found at the house of Ruth's friend. They were now being tried for the murder of Peters. They were both pleading not guilty, but Ruth admitted that she saw Neil push Mr. Peters to the floor, but Jake was still insisting on prosecuting both of them, saying that what Ruth saw doesn't prove anything. Especially since forensics say that Mr. Peters was killed by a kick to his head, probably while lying helplessly on the ground. Jake said that Ruth was not being truthful, and so he wanted to prosecute both of them for the murder. Something which Kate was not at all pleased about. At first she tried to reason with Jake to let Ruth go, as she believed she was just a mum desperate to be reunited with her son, and not a murderer. Jake wasn't having any of that, arguing that Ruth was not being truthful. So then Kate asked Henry to take her off the case. He wanted to know why and kept pressing her for a reason. Feeling claustrophobic at his pressing, she gave up and said 'Forget it!', reluctantly continuing on the case. She was frustrated, not at Jake really, but at the fact that they were prosecuting Ruth too.

Then came her huge 'mess up'. During the trial, she went for a drink with her friend Lydia, who also happened to be Ruth's defence barrister. When Kate had been still working for the defence, she and Lydia had been in the same chambers for years, and so a drink with her that day seemed harmless. Lydia commented on how Jake didn't seem like Kate's favourite person at the moments, and to that Kate admitted that she didn't agree with prosecuting Ruth. Gleefully, Lydia pushed for information, saying that she knew Jake would try some dirty trick in court when questioning Ruth. Kate told Lydia that she was right, that Jake was planning on winding Ruth up and showing the jury she had temper and was hence capable of murder. Lydia then backstabbed Kate by going behind her back to tell Jake what she'd just learnt. Jake was furious with Kate, but Henry was even more furious at her than him. They couldn't believe she had undermined the whole case by talking to Lydia. They were both shouting at her, and she back at them, trying to apologise, but they weren't listening to her, when Jake told her;

"I knew it was a risk taking you on!"

That really hurt. Kate was in such shock at those hurting words that she only managed to say "What?!"

He shook his head at her, and turned around to leave the room and go outside for some fresh air. Kate knew their argument wasn't over yet, so she decided to conform him immediately, not bothering to wait for the tension to simmer down.

"Jake!" she exclaimed. He turned around to face her, his eyes ablaze with anger.

"I'm sorry, ok? We both know what I did was stupid, and I'm sorry I talked to Lydia. I'm sorry I broke your trust. Yes, I was wrong, but I thought _I_ could trust Lydia... I'm sorry but I'm not perfect and I make mistakes! And I learn from my mistakes, Jake, you can trust me!"

Jake snapped back "Oh really? How do I know I ever can again? You betrayed me when you told Lydia my tactics!"

Kate felt as if he had physically hit her. She didn't know what to say to him; he was right after all. She shook her head slightly, and turned her back to him and sat down at her desk. Tears blurring her vision, she'd picked up a file to distract herself.

"Kate?" Ronnie gently asked, pulling her out of her of thoughts. She shook her head slightly, clearing her head.

"Henry should have fired me on the spot for what I did, it was unacceptable…It was totally out of line…"

Ron said, "Maybe it was, but everyone makes mistakes. As you know, I used to drink. Screwed up my second marriage and watching my kids grow up. But they forgave me I the end, my kids, when I changed my ways and apologised…."

Kate sighed and pulled her hair back in a sloppy bun. She watched as Ron picked up the frame on her desk. He studied it, smiling at how sweet and happy the two girls looked.

"This your sister?" he asked. One of the girls was definitely Kate, while the older one looked quite alike to her.

She nodded. "That's Beth. She's almost 7 years older than me. I was only 10 when that picture was taken."

"You must miss her a lot…"

Kate's eyes widened, not believing her ears. How did Ron know?

"What?" she asked, blinking. He sighed and said: "A short while ago, I was going through cold missing peoples' files, and I came across an Elizabeth Barker. It said that if she were to be found, one should contact Kate Barker…"

She stared at him for a long moment, and before replying she took a long swig of beer. "Spot the detective… Did you also read that she had her baby taken away?" Her voice broke on the last word.

"Yes, I did, actually. Does Jake know that this is why this case has been so hard on you?"

"Like he'd care…" she said, her voice hurt.

"That's a little harsh."

"No, Ronnie, what's harsh is what happened to Beth and Ruth. They were never noticed by the system when they needed help, when they were addicted to drugs and thrown out by their parents. But when they got pregnant, then they got noticed, didn't they? Until their babies were born at least. Then they took away their babies, and that was that. Ronnie, do you know how hard Beth cried the last time she held her baby? It was like her daughter had died. She disappeared soon afterwards because of the grief. She would have done anything to get her back."

"So that's why you don't want to charge Ruth, because she is just desperate to be reunited with Leo, just like your sister wanted nothing more than to have her baby back."

She smiled, "Finally someone who gets what I've been talking about!"

He sighed. "Kate, that's not what I meant."

She frowned, confused, and he continued. "You yourself have just said it, she would be willing to do _anything. In Ruth's case, e_ven murder."

Slowly, she took it in. and realised that he was right, he had a point. After a minute of silence, she said, "Oh… I've really messed everything up!"

"It's never too late, Kate… The important thing is that you understand now..." he patted her hand, and got up. He smiled and left her alone to think. For a while she just sat at her desk, staring at her frame, processing everything. Then she slowly picked up the evidence and crime scene photos. She started to look through them; once, twice and by the third time, something caught her eye. Frowning, she picked up the CCTV photo showing Ruth and Neil leaving the crime scene with Leo. Her eyes wandered to the shoes they were wearing. It wasn't a very clear image, but the white line on the Ruth's sneakers was unmistakable. She quickly flipped through the rest of the images, and found the photos of the clothes the police took from Ruth and Neil at their arrest for processing. There was a picture of Ruth's black sneakers. They, however, did not have a white stip.

Police had arrested Ruth and Neil at Ruth's friend's house, Lisa Longwood. She could have easily changed her shoes there before her arrest. The only reason that she would have done that was because she knew traces of blood would have been found on them. Which meant that Ruth had killed Mr. Peters. As Kate herself had told Ronnie, Ruth had done everything she could to have Leo back, even murder. Kate's heart was beating fast, this was the proof Jake needed to win the case against Ruth. She glanced at the clock on the wall, it was 10 o'clock. Too late to call Jake, besides he was still angry at her; it would be better to let him sleep on it. However, she knew that defence was calling Ruth up as a witness tomorrow, so Jake would need to know beforehand about this evidence, he needed something to read through before he stood to question her. So he'd know how to question Ruth, present the evidence and show that she was guilty. Determined, she started typing on her computer. In a few hours, she had drawn up a brief explanation for him. She'd also prepare the questions he should ask her, and how to ask her, to get her to crack. She modified his closing speech and added that he should show the jury how Neil had been framed by Ruth and was the innocent one.

When she was done, she proceeded to printing it out and printing our copies of the two pictures showing Ruth's different shoes. She spread them out on the floor, carefully counting she had enough for everyone (for all the members of the jury, the judge, the defence barristers and Jake of course). She stapled together the pairs, and packed everything in her briefcase. Once she was done, the room looked like a tornado had passed through it, and even though she felt drained because of the day's events, she tidied it up. It was early in the morning when she was finally done with everything they'd need in court that day.

She left to go home, and once she was there she had a shower. Then, wrapped in nothing but a towel she fell asleep on top of her bed. She was so exhausted, and she even overslept.

When she finally arrived in court, after having put on some clothes and tied her frizzy hair back, not bothered with makeup (she would have only arrived later, and no matter how much she'd use, the blue bags under her eyes would be still visible) and thrown a coffee down her throat (a safety measure to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep in court), she found Jake in the dressing room, already changed in court robes. She knew she looked a mess, but it didn't matter, she needed to tell Jake about the shoes of Ruth that were about to change the trial.

"Jake…"

"You're late." He said, she looked half asleep to him.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I was wrong, Ruth's the murderer and I've found proof…" she handed him the report and a copy of the pictures, and disappeared into an empty changing cubicle.

He was surprised at what she'd said, and flabbergasted at the report she'd prepared. He flipped through it, amazed she'd even thought to prepare the questions he should ask Ruth when she was on the stand, and when and how he should best fraze them.

"How…" he finally managed to say. She opened the door, now wearing her robes too, and he looked down at her tired face. She must have been up all night working on this, he realised.

"I even printed out copies of the pictures for the jury, you don't have to worry about anything. Look, I'm really sorry Jake, I shouldn't have talked to Lydia. I understand that you are angry and you can't trust me, I'd be extremely mad too if my colleague did to me what I did to you. Do you even want me in court today?" she asked, hesitant.

"No, I'm sorry Kate, I was harsh to you, I don't think you intentionally betrayed my trust.."  
She shook her head, "Don't be sorry, I deserved every word you said." She looked at the ground. He walked over to her, and lifted her chin. Even though she pretended not to care, her eyes said a different story.

"Even though I was mad at you, I had no right to hurt you like that, I'm sorry. And this report, it's brilliant! We will definitely win against Ruth!"

She smiled tentatively up at him. "So, you want me in court?"

He smiled back and said, "Not just next to me on the bench, I want you instead of me, leading…Good work, Miss Barker!"

He walked out, and she stared after him, amazed at how things had turned around. She quickly pulled on the wig for court and followed Jake into the court room.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm on holiday at the moment, so sorry nothing exciting this is only a filler chapter...**

**Disclaimer: Dick Wolf is the (lucky) person who owns law and order uk...**

Kate was feeling nervous. Lydia had questioned Ruth, who retold her story about how she'd seen Neil push Mr. Peters to the ground, but not kick him. Neil's lawyer cross examined her but there wasn't much he could really get out of her for the benefit of his client, so he soon sat down again. Then it was Kate's turn. It was the first time she'd be leading since joining the CPS. Sure, Jake had let her question witnesses before but only minor, not-as-important ones. He hadn't trusted her to be the one questioning when her performance would determine a win or a loss.

He knew she was nervous, and he smiled slightly at her as she stood up, smoothening her robes.

"Miss Pendle, how long had you been taking drugs before you got pregnant?"

"A, a few years."

"Did Neil share the same pastime as you?"

"No, he never touched them.."

"Did he know that you were on drugs?"

"No, I never told him."

"You must be a very good liar, Ruth. Not only did you keep you r drug use form him, but also the fact that you were having his baby. How do you know that you're not lying now?"

"I,I swear it was Neil, he pushed Mr. Peters to the ground."

"Miss Pendle, what shoe size are you?"

Lydia stood up. "My Lord? Relevance?" she asked.

The judge said, "I'm sure that Miss Barker has her reasons for asking and that they are related to this case. Answer the question, Miss Pendle."

Stammering, Ruth said, "I wear a size 5."

Kate asked, "So why were the shoes that the police removed from you at your arrest a size 7? In fact, if the jury would please look at the pictures in the envelope in front of you, you will see a CCTV footage image and a picture forensics took of the shoes that Ruth was wearing. I have an unhealthy obsession with trainers, and I appreciate that to the untrained eye, the shoes appear the same, but if you look closely at the shoes on the CCTV image, you should notice a white strip on Ruth's shoes. That strip is not there in the photo forensics took. Can you explain that, Ruth?"

"I…I…The picture must have something on it…."

"You swapped your trainers with those of Lisa Longwood's, didn't you? Because you knew that forensics would find traces of Mr. Peters' blood on those shoes, from where you kicked him."

"That is ridiculous."

"Ruth, you love Leo and wanted him back, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes of course!"

"You're his mum and you love him so much that you would fight for him, yes?"

"Yes of course!" she started crying.

"Of course you did, you were prepared to let Neil Jenkins believe that he killed Mr. Peters, you were prepared to lie under oath, you were prepared to do anything, whatever it took, weren't you? Just to get off the murder of Mr. Peters. Because there was a small chance that you could fight the adoption, together with Neil. If you stuck to your story of self-defence, there was a chance you two weren't found guilty. Then he could have contested the adoption, because his name wasn't on the birth certificate. Neil never knew about Leo, not till you told him two weeks before the attack on Mr. Peters, isn't that right? You planned everything from the beginning, didn't you?"

Ruth continued crying.

"Ruth, you kicked Mr. Peters, the parent of your child in his head, didn't you?"

"Leo didn't belong to _him, _he belongs with me!" she burst out angrily.

"No, Ruth, Leo is the son of Mr. Peters and his husband, Mr. Gareth Wilks. Only you made sure that he lost one of his parents, didn't you?"

Still crying, Ruth nodded.

"No further questions." Kate said. She sat down and glanced to her right. Jake was smiling slightly, Lydia looked beaten, Neil looked relieved and his lawyer had perked up.

The jury didn't take long to decide.

"On the account of murder of Richard Peters, how do you find the defendant, Neil Jenkins, guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty."

"On the account of murder of Richard Peters, how do you find the defendant, Ruth Pendle, guilty or not guilty?"

"Guilty."

Kate and Jake smiled at each other. Kate looked over at Lydia, thinking _karma! _but also realising that without her backstabbing Kate would not have figured out the shoe thing.

They got up and walked towards Henry. He was smirking at the pair, feeling incredibly proud.

"Bloody good job, Kate!"

"I'm sorry about my earlier mess up…"

"Everyone makes mistakes. At first I thought I was one of them, for hiring you, but turns out maybe _I _don't make mistakes. Best thing I ever did, hiring you, you and Jake make the perfect team. I'm sorry Kate, I overreacted. So yes, maybe I make mistakes too, thinking yesterday that hiring you was a mistake, was a mistake…"

Sensing a lengthy lecture about mistakes coming, Kate and Jake quickly excused themselves. As they were walking through court towards the exit, she told him with a giggle, "We almost made the _mistake _of staying in there listening to Henry for too long! Almost fell in his trap!"

He laughed, still feeling incredibly proud of how well Kate had questioned Ruth and convinced the jury of her guilt. He was no longer angry at her, as Henry had said, everyone made mistakes...

"How did you figure out the trainer thing? It was amazing, and there all along!" he asked in wonder.

"Like I said before, it's called an unhealthy obsession. Jake, again, I'm sorry for being so stupid and such a pain. And for breaking your trust, and…"

He pulled her to a stop and placed a finger on her lips, effectively shutting her up.

"It's ok, silly, you're forgiven. Just…"

"Jake, Kate, there you two are…" Ronnie said, puffing slightly and catching up with them, not seeming to notice that he'd interrupted something. Jake dropped his hand from Kate's face and they stepped away from each other. Ronnie handed Kate a piece of folded paper, smiling slightly.

Jake raised his eyebrows, "Something I should know about?"

"Oh, there's plenty, Jake, plenty...But I'm not on the stand now, so don't bother asking. Com'on, let's go to the bar, Joe's payin'".

They walked off, leaving Kate alone to open the paper. An address was written there, and underneath the name Beth. She smiled broadly and hurried to catch up with Ron and Jake. Thanks to Ronnie it looked like she had her Sunday planned out.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: happy Easter :). This chapter is about Kate reuniting with her sister :)**

**disclaimer: I don't own law and order UK...**

That Sunday, Kate went to visit her sister at the address Ron had given her. She had prepared her sister some lunch, not in what state she'd find her in. Then, nervously she stepped onto the tube, travelling to the less cultured part of London. According to the address, Beth didn't live too far away from her. Finally, she was stood in front of a run-down looking block of flats. The front door wasn't even locked (Kate had a feeling that she knew why). She entered and climbed up the stairs, and then rang the doorbell to the number 5 door.

At first no one opened. Then a woman with dirty, lank blonde hair opened. Her blue eyes were hollow looking. Kate smiled, tears forming in her eyes, she hadn't thought she'd ever see her sister again since she left.

"Katie?" the woman asked, blinking as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"You recognise me…." Kate whispered, before hugging her sister. Beth gripped her tightly and started crying, and Kate did her best to hold back her own tears. Finally, they let go of each other. Beth cupped her sister's face, something she often did when they were younger.

"Look at you, all grown up! Last time I saw you, you were a tiny 11-year old, sneaking out of mum and dad's house to give me food, cos you were worried that my boyfriend wasn't feeding me enough!"

Kate smiled at that memory. Beth had been kicked out of the house when she got pregnant. She and Beth still met up, even though there was almost a 7 year age difference between them, they'd always been inseparable. Beth was always complaining about how hungry she was, because of her pregnancy, but Kate was convinced it was because her boyfriend didn't give her enough food.

"Beth, were have you been? I've missed you so much!"

"Trust me, I've missed you too, but I couldn't, I just couldn't stay after they took, after they took Olivia."

She wiped her eyes, and invited her sister in. The house didn't look much better from the inside than from the outside.

Beth led Kate to the sofa, and they sat down.

"What went wrong, Katie? That boyfriend who led me to drugs? Having Liv taken away from me? Being thrown out by mum and dad?"

"Thrown out by mum and dad, mainly. I mean the drugs didn't help, but you got clean the instance you found out you were pregnant with Livia. They were so pleased when you quit. I was so happy too, I thought everything was going back to normal, no more fighting and shouting and stuff…But then when they found out you were pregnant…"

"They preferred drugs to their own granddaughter. Cos since she was family, they'd have to pay for her, to help me out. With drugs they had no obligation to do so…"

"Remember how dad threw you out, just like that?"

"Yeah, I do. I also remember how you came running out 10 minutes later with my bag filled with clothes, some personal belongings and your piggybank!"

Kate giggled and remembered how she thought that those loose coins would buy Beth her own flat. She also remembered the hiding she'd got from her father when she returned back home that day, for helping Beth. From then onwards, she had to keep it a secret from her parents that she was still seeing and helping her sister.

"Remember how you bought yourself a flat and started working your ass off to make money?"

"Well, I didn't buy the flat. I was living with my new boyfriend… he was pissed when he found out I was pregnant…"

"Yeah, but he calmed down when you told him it wasn't his baby. Of course, he moved out, he didn't want to be responsible for a child…"

"But he let me stay in the flat for free. His father was the land lore after all, and he genuinely liked me and was sorry for the way our parents threw me out…"

"Remember how even I started working? Well, not working but I ran around the estate offering to do people's dirty work… Laundry, walking dogs and babysitting…. They all had something for me to do…"

"You gave me anything you earned, you thought you were making a fortune!"

Kate laughed at that, as a 10-year old she didn't understand the value of money yet.

"And then, just after your 11th birthday, Livie was born…" Beth said quietly. They both remembered that clearly. They had been in Beth's flat together. They'd managed to brighten it up quite a lot, their Sunday morning hobby was going to flea markets. They found cheap second hand items for the nursery room, they even bought paint to decorate it.

That evening they were watching a film together on the ancient TV, when suddenly Beth's waters broke. She paled and clutched her tummy, and panicking, Kate called an ambulance, since Beth didn't have a car. They arrived in hospital and only 3 hours later, the baby was born while Kate held Beth's head in her lap. As they placed the tiny blonde baby against Beth's chest, she looked up at Kate, who beamed down at her older sister and said "Olivia is so cute!"

So Beth named the baby Olivia. Of course, the nurses immediately called social services, after all, an under aged teenager had just given birth, accompanied by her little sister. They wanted to take Liv away immediately, but Beth refused. Reluctantly, they left, saying they would visit often to make sure she was capable of bringing up a child.

After that, Beth couldn't work anymore, so it was Kate who continued running around the village to babysit, cook, do shopping for old people, clean cars or houses; anything to earn some money for Beth. Her parents didn't seem to care that their 11 year old daughter came home late every day, or that she barely ate and instead snuck the food out for her sister.

However, almost a year after this crazy new lifestyle, social services took Olivia. They said that Beth couldn't handle such a responsibility, and that Olivia would be better off with "_proper parents"._ They told Beth not to bother to fight in court; she didn't have enough money for her own flat, let alone a lawyer. Beth was broken hearted, and Kate helplessly hugged her sister once the social service people had left, with a screaming, struggling and crying Liv.

"Beth, why did you leave me? You could have stayed, started studying again or got a job…"

Only one month after Liv had been taken away, Beth packed her bags. She waited for Kate before she left. She hugged her really hard, and handed her some photos and her piggybank.

'_Take care of these photos. In your piggyback there's money, all the money you earned but I didn't use. Kate, you are smart: continue saving up and study and become a lawyer or something, get yourself out to the miserable situation we grew up in. I love you, please don't follow me…" _Ignoring Kate's pleas, protests, screaming and crying, she disappeared. With tears blurring her vision, Kate had looked down at the top photo of the small pile her sister had given her. It was the one of them grinning broadly, with their arms around each other, the baby bump already visible but not immediately noticeable.

"I couldn't, I had to escape everything. I don't even know why I'm still alive…"

"Are you on drugs?"

"No, I never touched them again after I quit cos of Liv."

"Beth, please let me help you; you need therapy. I've found this rehab centre where they can help you get your life back and make you independent. Most probably we can get this treatment for free, for the way the social services simply took Liv without helping you to get your life back on track. I could help you sue them if you want. And if we can't, I'll pay every single penny you need to get better again."

Beth looked with her sad eyes at Kate, a flicker of light in them.

"Really?"

"Beth, please go for therapy. It'll take a year, maybe two. Then you could find yourself a proper job, and we could try and find Olivia, she's almost 17 by now…."

Beth blinked, "You'll help me?"

"Yes, I love you and I'd do anything for you. Just agree you'll go there and help yourself, in fact, I've booked you in already…"

She pulled out a paper with all the information on the centre.

"I've thought of everything…Just go and afterwards, we'll find Olivia together…"

Tears escaped Beth's eyes.

"From the age of 10, you did everything you could to help me financially. Now you even want to pay for this mental rehab… Why? After everything I put you through…"

"Please say you'll go. For my sake, for yours and for Liv's."

"Kate, yes. Thank you…"

Kate hugged her, "No, thank you!"

Maybe they could start over again. Wipe the slate clean...


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: sorry for not updating in a while but I was super busy, preparing for my Maltese oral exam (trust me, whoever knows Maltese, it is a nightmare to study). Turns out I panicked for nothing, it was actually easy... Almost disappointing after all that studying...**

**Usual disclaimer: law and order UK belongs to Dick Wolf, not me. **

Kate stayed for the whole day at her sister's, they talked about what they'd done the past 16 years they were separated. They had a lot to catch up on, after all. Beth was extremely proud of her little sister's achievements.

Then, when it was late in the evening, Kate had to leave. She gave Beth her number, telling her to phone once she was living at the centre to tell her how she was doing. They hugged, and Kate walked off into the dark streets. It was around 10 o'clock already.

She tried to process everything that had happened, overwhelming emotions cursing through her veins. Happiness for finding and reconnecting with Beth, relieved she'd accepted her help, sadness for the almost 17 wasted years Beth had spent, pity for what her sister had suffered from, anger at her parents, at the system who had ultimately ruined Beth, anger at herself, and guilt….

Her feet stopped walking, and she was somehow standing in front of Jake's door. She didn't remember deciding to go to his place. However, talking to him seemed like a very good idea. After all, she did owe him an explanation about her stupid behavior when working the Pendle case. So she lifted her arm to ring the doorbell.

Jake had just stepped out of his bathroom after a nice, hot shower, when the doorbell rang. He frowned, wondering who it might be, and opened. He was very surprised to find Kate there.

She was shivering, and when she looked up at him, she told him "I'm sorry..." In a broken voice. She wrung her hands, and looked away from his intense gaze.

"About what? The case? Cos that's long over and I've already forgiven you." He said gently while placing his hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him, tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth, but then shook her head and looked down again.

"It's all my fault" she mumbled glumly after a while, not meeting his gaze.

"What's your fault?" he asked, confused and worried. Something was definitely wrong with her. He let her inside his flat, and led her to his sofa. She sat down but didn't say anything. He went into the kitchen and got the first alcoholic drink he got his hands on, and a couple of glasses. He poured them both a drink. He handed her hers, and she immediately drowned it in one go. He refilled the glass, and after it too had gone down, she finally glanced up into his eyes. He offered her his untouched drink, which she took and drank too.

Finally, she started talking. She told him the whole story, of the 10 year old girl growing up too soon to help her 17 year old pregnant sister, taking care of her and even working before the time she was 11. She told him how social services took the baby away just before her first birthday, the baby she and Beth so loved. (He immediately felt so stupid, of course she was upset when they were working on the Pendle case, it was the exact situation she and her sister had been in. Well, without the murder part of course.) She told him how Beth disappeared after that, how she made up her mind to change the situation she and her sister had grown up in. How she worked while studying, how she made loans to pay for law school, how she not only managed to become a lawyer, but also a brilliant defence barrister and got employed at once. She told him how she wondered what had happened to Beth every day. How unwilling she felt to work the Pendle case, because she saw her sister in Ruth's eyes. She said she hadn't meant to help Lydia, she was just frustrated and angry towards the system who didn't help Ruth or Beth when they needed it. She also told him how Ron figured it out eventually, and helped her to see that a desperate young mum could be capable of murder to get her son back. How then she noticed the different trainer thing. She said that after the trial, Ronnie had given her her sister's address; he'd managed to track her down. She told him in what a horrible state she found Beth living in, and how it couldn't really be called living anymore, how Beth had wasted over 16 years of her life because of her grief. She said that she'd convinced her sister to go to therapy, to get help. Then she said, "I feel so… Why was it me who managed to become a lawyer without messing up my life? Why wasn't it Beth? Why was she the one who had her life ruined? Why was it us who had crap parents…?"

She started shuddering, and he immediately pulled her into his arms.

She froze at first, but his embrace seemed so natural that she quickly relaxed and let him hug her.

"Kate…" he whispered, not having any answers to her questions. She sniffed, breathing in his warm scent. It was spicy, nothing like she'd ever smelt before, and she liked it.

"I don't deserve to be the one who has it all. I should have taken better care of Beth.. It's my..."

He cut her off before she could say 'fault'.

"No, you're being silly. You deserve it more than anyone else, you worked hard to get to where you are. You should be really proud of yourself. And I know you're feeling guilty about your sister. But don't. You did everything you could to help her, you were only 11 but still you tried. Even now, after 16 years you are still trying. There isn't anything that you did wrong. And it definitely wasn't your fault, everything that happened." He reassured her.

She pulled away to look in his eyes.

"You're right. I did work really hard. And I did everything I could to help Beth…"

He smirked playfully trying to lighten her mood,"Of course I'm right."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smile spreading across her face.

After a minute of silence she admitted, "It just feels like I should have done more..."

He shook his head, "it only feels that way, but in reality you did everything you could. And that's what counts."

Then she sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. She was feeling frustrated, and worse, helpless, about the situation. There was nothing she could do about it.

"Thanks Jake, for understanding..."

He smiled but was still worried at how small and crushed she still looked. "You're welcome, Kate. I'm always there for you. But you know what?"

"Mmmhm?"

"Maybe you should stop fighting the world blindfolded. And alone."

"I'm not alone, I've got you…"

She closed her eyes, feeling drained. Combination of the overwhelming emotions and the alcohol, probably.

"Anyways, I need to let go of my past. Forget all the times my mum ignored me. My father hurt me. My sister broke my heart. I need to start over, a new page…" she mumbled. He rubbed her shoulder.

"You already have, sweetcheeks. You only need to forgive yourself, because you've been blaming yourself all your life. And it was never your fault... That's why you're feeling guilty, even though none of this was your fault..."

She nodded, her head still against his shoulder."Thanks Jake..." She said again before slipping into a dreamless but peaceful sleep.

He continued to rub her shoulder, before he realised that she'd fallen asleep. When he noticed, he pulled back slightly to look at her. Her eyelids were pale violet, and her long lashes formed two perfect golden half-moons. Her breathing was deep and regular, and she looked peaceful, all the worry lines on her forehead having disappeared. Maybe that was the reason, or maybe it was the fact that she looked so safe, or maybe a combination of both that caused him to tighten his arms around her. Knowing she needed rest, he decided he wouldn't wake her up. He told himself it was only because he didn't want to wake her up (he was lying to himself, it was because she looked so peaceful), and pulled their legs up onto the sofa, and laid them both down horizontally. She was on the outside, with her head on his heart and her arm on his chest. He rested his cheek against her sweet smelling hair, and fell asleep quickly, with his still arms around her.

The next morning she woke up feeling disorientated. She had a pounding headache and could hear someone's heart beating under her ear. She frowned, not remembering having a one night stand. But then again, she usually got so drunk that she didn't remember. But that didn't explain why she was feeling so oddly relieved. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and slowly sat up, and her eyes widened as she saw that it was Jake she was curled up next to. She panicked at first, thinking _did we even use a condom?! _and trying to remember what had happened. Then she realised they were both fully clothed, she even had her Uggs still on. The events of the previous night came crashing down on her: Beth, feeling upset and guilty, Jake comforting her, feeling so safe and relieved that someone could understand her, for once. Apparently she had felt so safe that she fell asleep in his arms, and not to wake her, he'd stayed with her. She firmly told her overly imaginative mind that that was the only reason.

She smiled broadly, and couldn't help but reach to touch his face. Lightly, she traced the outline of his lips, jaw, nose and eyes. She even ran her fingers through his thick, black hair. Then, for a while she simply watched him sleep, thinking how calm he looked.

Then she gently kissed his cheek, and slowly untangled her legs from his and lifted his arm off her waist. She really wanted to stay and watch him wake up, but she probably looked a mess. Besides, if she'd stay, she'd be late for work, something Henry would not find amusing and he'd get suspicious of. She stood up a bit unsteadily, and quickly located her coat and slipped it on. Then, after a last glance at Jake, she quietly let herself out of his house.

For once, she was the first one in their office, usually she arrived after him. She placed the coffee she'd bought him on his desk, and used hers to drown two Panadols.

After a short while, he arrived. She immediately smiled at him and said, "Thanks, Jake, for listening to me, I feel so much better than yesterday. I'm sorry for coming round uninvited, and running away like that this morning before you woke up…"

"Stop apologising, just by coming to my flat 'uninvited' doesn't mean you did anything wrong. And you're welcome, Kate." He smiled at her, and they both jumped guiltily as someone cleared their throat.

Henry was standing in the doorway, with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised. "I don't care what you two do in your free time together, but whatever it is that is going on between you, please leave it, ahhm, where it is meant to _happen. _Not one step out of the bedroom!" he said sternly while trying his hardest not to burst out laughing at the horrified expression the two were wearing.

Blushing, Jake protested "Henry! Don't jump to conclusions!"

"Enlighten me, then?" He asked, confused. He was convinced that they had...

Kate, also pink in the face explained to Henry as if she could read his mind, "It's not what you're thinking; I was upset about a couple of things related to the Pendle case so I went round to his to apologise, drank too much and spent the night on his sofa, that's all!"

"Nothing's going on between us…" Jake added.

Smirking, Henry looked at the two young barristers, loving how he was winding them up, in his opinion they made such a great pair! And the way they were blushing, he knew it was only a matter of when, and not a matter of if…


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: soo this is the foreshadowing.. Just a filler, till tomorrow ; ) enjoy **

**disclaimer: all rights of law and order uk are reserved by dick wolf.**

"Here you go…" Jake said, dropping a huge file on Kate's desk. She looked up, surprised, and raised an eyebrow.

"You're leading this case. It's a retrial; for some reason the accused has been granted an appeal…"

She opened the file, and started looking through it.

"Who is 'e? And what's 'e done?"

"His name is Mark Glendon. He'd been found guilty of murdering his wife."

"And they're granting him an appeal and retrial?"

"Don't worry though, you'll manage to win, you have 2 witnesses and his daughter Abby who will testify against him. He used to abuse his wife, and one day it escalated into murder…"

She nodded, flipping through the pages. Henry's name caught her attention, and she giggled. "Look at this, Jake! Henry led this case, his last one before he got promoted to what he is now… Not that he works now, I bet he's on Facebook the whole day!"

Jake smiled. "And even Wes Layton worked that one, also he last case before he became a detective-inspector."

"Talking of whom, it's his surprise birthday party next week… I don't know what I'm gonna wear yet…"

He sighed and walked back to his desk, "Well, stop thinking and start working!"

She pulled a face at him, but did as he told her.

xxxxxxx

"FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FEE-LLOWWW… AND SO SAY ALL OF US!" they sung, and then cheered. "Thank you, guys, I really appreciate this!" Wes said, holding up his glass. It was his birthday, and he'd been surprised by his colleagues (not that he liked surprises).

There was a really nice atmosphere in the room, everyone was so happy; and there was a feeling of unition between everyone. And the cake was delicious too. Ronnie and Joe were talking to Wes ,who had not realised that they were planning on throwing him a surprise party (they teased him asking what kind of detective was he?), Henry was introducing his wife to other people in the room (taking about half an hour with each new person his wife met), and Jake couldn't keep his eyes off Kate. The dress she was wearing really suited her. It was semi-low cut showing her collarbone, and it had long sleeves (obviously, to cover her scar) and was fitted to her torso. At her waist it stopped hugging her body but instead the skirt was loose, falling down till the top of her knees and swirling every time she moved. Her blonde wavy hair was open, and the smile on her lips never left, not for a split second. Most of the time she spent talking to Martine, Wes's wife, who told Kate that she was going to take her husband out after this party, but she wouldn't say where, it was going to be a surprise for him. Sometimes, she'd catch him staring, and then she'd send him a sweet smile and turn around to continue talking to Martine.

Kate was laughing at what Martine had said, and told her "You're so funny! Wes is so lucky to have you. Honestly, we need more women like you working at the MIU and CPS, trust me, it gets a bit boring sometimes…" when Jake walked up behind them, holding two glasses of champagne. "Are you calling me boring?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned up at him and said, "Yes, your selective hearing really annoys me…"

Martine laughed, "Does he pretend to be deaf if you start talking about fashion and stuff like that?" Kate nodded, "Yes, he does…" while giving Jake a narrowed-eye look.

He laughed and said "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

He nodded, "Yeah, you 're right. Here.." he added, giving her one of the glasses. She smiled, surprised, and took it. Then they heard Henry call her. She rolled her eyes, "I'm gonna go and see what Henry wants, I should be done in an hour or so…Enjoy your surprise-evening-thing with Wes, Martine!"

She left, and Jake started after her for a long moment. He looked back at Martine who was smirking slightly, just as Wes walked up behind her, hugging her.

"I've said goodbye to Ronnie and Joe and most of the others, and I thanked them for this wonderful surprise."

"Let's go then, for my surprise to you, honey" she told him, kissing his cheek.

"Have a good time, Wes and Martine, and happy birthday!" Jake said, holding his glass up at them.

Wes winked at Jake, "Just as I'm gonna go away with this beautiful woman, I suggest you go and find your beautiful woman! She looks stunning, by the way!"

Laughing at Jake's expression, Wes and Marine waved and left.

Shaking his head at what Wes had said, Jake did as he 'suggested'. He found Kate in a quiet area (she probably was hiding from Henry and his long lectures, not that anyone could blame her). She had her back to him, and she was drinking from the glass of champagne he'd given her. He walked up to her, and placed his hand on the small of her back. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Wes just told me to go and find you, or to be precise, to go find as he said and I quote, 'Your beautiful woman'" he smirked.

"He said that?" she asked, blushing slightly. First Henry assuming they were sleeping together, and now Wes… it was like everyone was shipping them or something.

"Yes, he did say that. And he's right. You _are_ beautiful." He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol that encouraged him to say that. She blushed even more, as his eyes travelled down her body. When he looked up again in her face, he saw the blush and he smirked.

"Well, thanks Jake." She said a bit shyly.

She unconsciously stepped a bit closer to him. He touched her cheek, and then gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her skin tingling pleasantly where his fingers trailed. His fingers lingered at the corner of her jaw, and they both stared into each other's eyes. She smiled at him.

Before anyone could break the silence or make another move, a gunshot was heard. And another, and another one. The calm atmosphere in the room was immediately replaced by chaos and screams. Jake dropped his hand and stepped away from Kate swiftly, and hurried towards Henry.

"Henry!" he called.

"Someone's been shot!" Henry stated the obvious.

"Martine and Wes left 3 minutes ago!" Kate said.

The blood drained from Ron's face, and he and Joe ran out of the room. They found Martine in her car in the carpark, just under the MIU building. She was crying, and Wes was sitting next to her in the driver's seat, dead.

She told them that a person on a motorbike had driven up behind them, preventing them from driving off. Wes had opened the window to ask the driver if there was a problem, and the hooded man shot Wes 3 times.

Even though they had been told to stay upstairs in the MIU building, Henry, Jake and Kate disobeyed and hurried down soon after to see what had happened.

Kate paled when she saw Wes, dead. She looked up at Jake, who was wearing a horrified expression. They were both speechless. When Martine saw Kate, she broke down crying, and went to hug her. Kate too looked like she was about to start crying, as she held a sobbing Martine in her arms.

Afterwards, when an ambulance arrived and forensics came to 'forensicate' (as Ronnie always says) the place, doctors pulled Martine into the ambulance, to make sure she was ok. Physically at least.

Jake exhaled shakily, and to his surprise Kate threw herself in his arms. He hugged her back, hard, and then she pulled away completely. "Why Wes?" she asked in a whisper, wiping her damp eyes. He took her hands in his and squeezed them, saying "I don't know, Kate, I don't know…"

When, in less than 24 hours, the two witnesses of the Glendon case, that were meant to testify against him, were killed, or better, executed, in the same way as Wes, it quickly became obvious that Wes's shooting was not random. And then, Henry became a target too, because of his connection with the original trial of Glendon. After the motorbike of Wes's shooter was found parked very close to where Henry lived, he was put under police protection.

Jake even asked Kate if she wanted to let someone else lead the trial, in case she was a target too. She thought that he was being ridiculous, and said that she'd only be giving the shooter what he wanted by not working the case.

Kate and Jake received letters in their office, threatening them to let go of the case and to let Glendon walk. Which, of course Kate ignored; there was no way she was giving up the trial as long as she was alive.

It eased the tension everyone was feeling, a bit anyway, when police arrested a man named Adam, who was Glendon's son, and who was in possession of a gun the same calibre as the one that killed Wes and the other two people. Also, the motorbike police had found parked right outside Henry's home was registered to Adam. Who coincidentally believed that his father was innocent. Also coincidentally, Kate and Jake stopped receiving letters to drop the case, after his arrest.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Kate sighed and ran a hand through her hair, staring down at the mess of papers on her desk. She was feeling terrible and extremely nervous about the trial, which was going to be that week. She shook her head, trying to clear it, but still her mind wouldn't stop thinking about the horrid mess up of the whole situation. She simply had to win that case tomorrow, if she didn't she'd be letting down Wes, grieving Ron and Joe, and Henry, who was still under police protection, just in case.

"You alright?" Jake asked her, even though he knew it was a stupid question. She glanced over at him, he was sitting at his desk. She shrugged at him. "I need to win this case, Jake. For Wes, to protect Henry. To get justice for the horrible thing Mark Glendon did to his wife. For Abby, so she can relax again knowing that her father is in prison."

Jake studied her for a long moment, and she glanced back down at the paper work, uncomfortable by his gaze. She was no longer sure what they were, partners and friends, but more than friends at the same time…Especially since that night she'd slept in his arms after reconnecting with her sister; they had gotten much closer to each other... Their relationship was changing, and she wasn't sure if that scared her or if she should accept and stop denying the feelings she had for him.

"Kate, I know you can do it." He said, smiling slightly. She gulped; he was placing his _trust _in her. And she didn't want to betray his trust… Again.

"Com'on, it's late, let's go get a drink, shall we?" he offered, trying to cheer her up. She stared at him for a long moment and smiled almost shyly, "Yeah, I'd like that. You payin'?" she joked.

He laughed and got up to help her clear up the papers. "Now _that _sounds more like my Kate!"

She blushed slightly and packed the important files in her bag, meaning to spend the night awake, fuelled by alcohol, studying and planning the trial.

"It's gonna be a hell of a week, Jake", she said, having no idea how right she was. They slowly walked out of the office's doors.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: it's funny cos this is actually one of the first chapters I wrote, back in February, once when I was sick and had nothing to do.. Still it winds up becoming chapter 15! Anyways enjoy, sorry if it's a bit dark..**

**disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order UK, or SVU or.. anyways you get the point...**

It was not an easy week. Everyone was still very wary, even though the one who had killed Wes, the two witnesses and attempted to kill Henry, had been arrested. Maybe because when Ronnie and Joe were interrogating him, he told them that everyone should watch their backs, because this was not over yet.

Jake and Kate prepped the whole week for the trial, going over every little piece of evidence, determined to win he case.

Kate barely managed to sleep, the whole week, she was scared to lose the case. The disappointment…she'd be letting down Henry, Wes, grieving Ronnie and Joe, Abby, Glendon's wife and the relatives of the witnesses who were murdered because of the case, and worst of all; Jake.

Finally, the day of the trial arrived. When Kate finished getting dressed, she walked out and was unexpectedly hugged by Jake.

"I know you can do it" he told her once he let her go. She smiled nervously, she had a bad feeling about the whole day, and then she grinned as a bemused Jake held his hand up to the top of her head.

"Usually, you are shorter…" he mused.

Still grinning and thrilled that he'd noticed, Kate lifted her robes for him to see the pair of shoes Andy had literally threatened her to buy. He had told her: _trust me, he will so notice you if you wear them, they are sexy Kate and he'll love that! _Turns out Andy was right.

He laughed when he saw them and raised an eyebrow "New shoes? Trying to catch my attention?" Kate managed a laugh, and she couldn't help the slight blush that crept on her cheeks (how had he hit the nail on its head so fast?)' "Don't flatter yourself, Jake. Why do you become suspicios just cos I change my shoes?"

He rolled his eyes, amused, and then changed the subject. "We'd better get in the courtroom for you to win this case."

She sighed, "I'd better win, or else the disappointment from everyone will most probably kill me… I'd be letting down so many people…"

"Good thing I have a flower and funeral service number saved in my phone, from the time my more died...Was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Barker."

"Don't lose give up on me just yet. And admit it, you'd miss me incredibly."

He pretended to consider it, his hand on his chin, "What, you're so annoying, infuriating, insufferable, beautiful, crazy, did I already mention annoying? So yes, of course I'd miss you, Kate! So don't you lose!"

"Aww, you're sweet!" And before she could change her mind, she kissed him on the cheek. Grinning at his incredulous expression she declared, "Let's go get this trial over and done with, Jakey!"

"I change my mind, _Jakey _won't miss you!"

Xxxxxxxx

"Answer yes or no to my first question, have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed?"

"Yes" the jury's spokesman said.

"How do you find the defendant, Mark Glendon, guilty or not guilty?"

The courtroom was silent, and then the bombshell dropped.

"Not guilty."

Chaos erupted. Relatives of victims started shouting and screaming, Abby's grandma started crying, and Mark Glendon gleefully waved at Henry (everyone knew he hated Henry for putting him in jail, so he was rubbing in his win).

Kate blinked to clear her eyes, the words _not guilty _echoing in her head.

Jake grabbed her hand, and she looked up into his eyes. He opened his mouth, but she beat him to it.

"Aren't you lucky to get rid of me…"

"Listen, Kate, it happens…"

A gunshot was heard; the elderly woman was holding a gun, but she dropped it right after she shot. She had taken it from one of the armed officers, and she was sobbing, "You bastard, you killed my daughter and wouldn't even admit to it!"

The woman was immediately taken into custody. As for Mark Glendon, well the bullet had passed straight through his brains.

Abby stared shocked at her grandma. Kate realised that Abby had not only lost her mother and now her father, but also her grandma who had turned into a killer because she wanted justice for her dead daughter. Not to mention her brother who was arrested for the murder of Wes and those two other witnesses. Something which would have never happened if Glendon hadn't been granted appeal, something he only did on his father's behalf. Abby had lost everyone she loved just because of her father murdering her mother.

Kate felt as though she were in a daze, as Jake led her out of the courtroom which smelt bitter; of blood and failed justice. As if in a dream, she gave her statement to the police, and then accepted the cup Joe offered her.

"Tea, 4 sugars" he told her, smiling. Ronnie kindly said that it had been a hell of a day, and Henry suggested she went home and rested. They were all being so kind to her, and it only made her feel worse. Sensing this, Jake took her by the elbow and lead her towards the exit.

"How about a drink?"

"More like four." She replied, choking slightly on her words.

In silence, they walked down the stairs and out of court. Jake knew she needed to consume quite a bit of alcohol until she started talking again, but he still didn't like her silence. It was totally out of character for her after all. The ugly grey weather seemed to reflect her mood, it looked like it would rain.

"Miss Barker." They heard someone call in a cool, measured voice.

They turned around to see Abby standing on top of the court stairs. Coldly she said, "It's your fault my family is totally destroyed. If you had won the case, my gran wouldn't be sitting in a cell right now. I'm totally alone because of you. And even though he is dead, he died INNOCENT! Because of you! That is not enough for me!"

Jake could see that these harsh words were upsetting Kate, so he angrily told Abby, "Leave her alone!"

"You deserve to die, Barker!" and with that, Abby pulled out her gun. (She was a soldier so she always carried it with her. Before the trial she'd given it in to custody, but right afterwards they had given it back to her.) She fired it twice without even blinking.

A collective scream ran through the crowd. A police officer, when he heard the shots, ran and restrained Abby. Kate fell against a car as the bullets hit her, and Jake gently pulled her to the ground. She blinked, her eyes feeling heavy, and groaned in pain.

"Kate! Kate!" Jake shouted frantically.

Ronnie ran towards them, followed by Joe who quickly dialled for an ambulance. For Ronnie, this felt like de javu as he pulled off his scarf and applied pressure to Kate's tummy. Similarly, Joe applied pressure to her chest.

"Talk to her, Jake! Convince her to hold on!" Ronnie shouted. His hands were red already, blood seeping out of her tummy despite the scarf.

She was gasping for breath. One of her hands was by her stomach, as though protecting it from the bullet, and the other one lay curled by her face. Her hair was loose, strands all over her white face; she was much paler than usual. She looked bewildered, as though she couldn't understand what was happening, and as Jake watched in horror, blood started trickling out of the corner of her mouth.

Ronnie and Joe were on her right side, he on her left.

"Kate, look at me!" he commanded.

She turned her face to the left and dragged her eyes open. "Jake…." She managed to say.

"Listen to me, help is on the way, please hold on, keep looking at me!"

"Jake…" she tried again. "'Hurts…"

"I know, sweetcheeks, I know. But please, for me, hold on. How could I live without you, huh? Who else would be there to annoy me to no end? Keep your eyes open, please, for me?"

"But…Wanna leggo…"

"No Kate, no." he cupped her face in his hands. He gently pushed her hair out of her face. He heard Ronnie mutter, "She's losing too much blood!", while Joe said "Where's the bloody ambulance?"

"Please, Jake" she slurred. She needed him to say it was ok for her to let go. More blood trickled down her chin.

"No, Kate, don't leave me. Hold on…"

But that darkness was so tempting, and she wanted to seek it, fall into its painless embrace. She tried to keep her eyes open, and she stared at Jake's anxious expression as he wiped blood from her mouth and chin. He kept telling her not to let go. She tried to reach for his face, and he caught her hand and held it to his cheek. She could feel her strength fading, and each heartbeat was a huge effort. She could feel herself slipping away, into the darkness and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Forgive..me.." she managed to say, before her eyelids fluttered shut.

Finally, the ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly pushed Jake, Ronnie and Joe out of the way, taking over.

Ronnie filled them in on her details. "27, Kate Barker. Two bullets hit her, in her tummy and chest."

A mask was secured around her face, and her limp body was lifted onto a stretcher. Wires to monitor her vitals were quickly attached to her body, and a needle was smoothly inserted in her arm. One of the paramedics was in contact with the hospital, "…needs a blood transfusion, and prepare a room for surgery!"

She was whisked onto the ambulance. Jake, Joe and Ronnie watched helplessly as a different paramedic said, "We're losing her!" Someone ripped open her shirt, buttons flying everywhere. "Charging to 400 Volts!"

"Clear!"

The doors were slammed shut. With emergency lights blaring, the ambulance rushed off, leaving Ronnie, Joe and Jake not knowing what was happening to Kate.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: just a filler chap today...**

**disclaimer: I don't own law and order UK...**

Ronnie, Joe, Henry and Jake were all at the hospital, waiting for news about Kate. They'd been there for 5 hours already, which at least meant she was still clinging on to life.

Ronnie was feeling so sorry for Jake, who was sitting almost lifelessly on a chair, looking extremely worried. Ron knew he must be feeling terrible, he did, after all, remember his surrogate son's death. Matty had also received two shots, he had pushed Alesha and the kid witness out of harm's way and paid with his own life. Ron had tried to save Matt, but he died in his arms before the ambulance arrived.

He sincerely hoped that Kate would make it; Ronnie had really come to like the young barrister, and he knew that she and Jake shared the same close relationship he and Matt had, if not more. Not for the first time, Ron wondered if the two were romantically involved. But now was definitely a bad time to ask.

"Is there a Mr. Thorne here?" a doctor in her mid-forties asked. She was holding a clipboard and peering around the waiting room.

"Yes, I'm Jacob Thorne", Jake said, springing up. Henry also stood up, and Ronnie and Joe stopped leaning against the wall and looked in anticipation at the doctor.

"Is Kate alright?" Jake asked anxiously.

The doctor sighed, and glanced at him, surrounded by his mates.

"Why don't you come in my office." She said, and not really expecting an answer she turned around. Jake, Henry, Ronnie and Joe followed her, their hearts beating fast, all hoping not to hear bad news.

"I'm Doctor Attard, Kate's doctor. It says here that you, Mr. Thorne, are her emergency contact detail?"

Jake was a bit surprised, he hadn't known she had chosen him to be contacted in case of an emergency. Still, he nodded.

"How is she?" he demanded.

The doctor smiled sadly at him. "Miraculously, Kate survived the ride to hospital and the surgery. None were easy; in fact we lost her 3 times in that ambulance. She was losing a lot of blood, and quickly. We desperately needed to stop the bleeding and give her new blood."

"But she survived the surgery?" Henry asked, frowning. That was meant to be good, right?

"Yes, and as I said, miraculously, but she is still in a critical condition. She is now in a medically induced coma. These hours are deciding, as she might continue bleeding, or get a cloth. Or her body might just give up, she went through a lot of trauma. But if she does survive the next 72 hours, she will probably be ok. We will not attempt to wake her up before that."

Ronnie nodded, and then asked, "What damage did the bullets do?"

Dr. Attard sighed. "A lot, I'm afraid. From the angle of penetration, I guess that the shooter was standing, maybe at the top of a staircase? And Kate at the bottom?"

Jake nodded numbly.

"The first bullet went through her tummy, a couple of inches under her belly button, towards her right side. But because the shooter was standing higher than her, the bullet didn't enter straight, it sloped downwards."

"But that means that her spine was spared, right?" Joe interrupted.

"Yes, but it did a lot of damage further down. The bullet penetrated her uterus, meaning that she wasn't just losing blood from the bullet wound, but also vaginally. In fact, due to the excessive bleeding, we had to remove one of her ovaries as it had absorbed a lot of blood. It would have clotted if we'd left it there. Also, due to the sloped bullet entrance, we cannot stitch up the bullet wound."

"Why not?" Ronnie said, frowning.

"Because of the depth. If we had to stitch it closed, the surface would heal almost immediately, but at the bottom of the wound, it wouldn't heal. And it would most probably get infected, which could be extremely dangerous. So, it will take very long for her to recover, and it will be painful. Also, her chances of getting pregnant have dropped too. Not just because she has one ovary less, but because of the hole in her uterus. It will heal eventually, but will strain during pregnancy, and most women's bodies naturally abort the baby because of such a complication."

Henry exhaled shakily, and Jake blinked, trying to process everything. "What about the other bullet?" Jake finally asked.

"Ah, yes, the dangerous one. It almost hit her heart. In entered towards her right breast, and punctured her lung. Twice, actually, it exited again."

No wonder she'd been gasping for breath.

"She was _extremely _lucky that there was on air in her lungs at that moment. For then she would have definitely died. Luckily since there wasn't air in them, the punctured lung simply collapsed on itself, and like a vacuum sucked blood into it. Which explains why there was blood coming out of her mouth. But don't worry, we patched up the holes in her lung and managed to re-inflate it. Again, it will be a painful recovery, she will find it painful to breathe for a while. If she survives."

She was evidently not trying to sugar coat the situation.

"I'm sorry." She told them all.

"When can I see her?" Jake demanded.

The doctor sighed. "Tomorrow, I suppose. If she makes the night. Only you, though. Then after the first 72 hours more people can visit her." She glanced apologetically at the others.

"Remember, she will be in a comatose state for at least the first 3 days. It will take her 5 to 12 days after that to wake up. And then we will often have to sedate her."

"I understand." Jake said, feeling empty.

"Well, that's all. Mr. Thorne, if God forbid, she doesn't make it, someone will let you know."

He nodded.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: sorry, I'm super busy at the moment so if I have any mistakes or grammar doesn't make sense...**

**disclaimer: I don't own law and order UK.**

Jake spent the evening in the pub, drinking his sorrows and worries down. Why Kate? He blinked, his eyes stinging.

Since he was alone, without Kate for once, a lot of girls came up to him. Normally he would have been delighted, he would have teased Kate about it and bought one of the girls a drink, but tonight he could only think about Kate. He was worried sick about her, and he didn't know what he would do without her.

The next day at work was hell. Jake ignored Henry who had told him to take a day off for 'gardening leave', but he hardly managed to work. He glanced at Kate's desk the whole day long. Without her bubbliness, peace-disturbing and slightly annoying self, the room was very glum. Henry gave Jake the job of Abby's case, who was pleading not guilty to the attempted murder of Kate. The trial wouldn't be for ages, since it might still turn into murder….

Finally the evening arrived, meaning Jake was free to go and visit Kate. Thank goodness hospital hadn't called him, meaning that she was still alive. Every time his phone had rung that day, he jumped and dreaded who was calling and why they were calling.

Before going to the hospital, he decided to stop at Kate's flat. It didn't take him long at all to find the spare keys, the looked under the ceramic dwarf and there they were. _For God's sake! _he thought, he'd have to discuss safety issues with her, later.

He went through her house, and packed a bag for her. He found her clothes and took out comfy sweatpants, one pair of jeans, and a few buttoned shirts, he had a feeling she'd be stuck with those for a while. He smirked when he opened the underwear drawer; she had a lot of lingerie there. Still smirking, he picked out a lacy green bra and matching thongs, and packed those just for the fun of it (the rest he packed more sensible underwear). He also took a pair of Uggs for her.

Then he went to the hospital. He quickly found Dr. Attard, who smiled when she saw him and lead him to Kate.

"She's doing great till now! No complications so far. Oh, and you've brought her some clothes too! Talk to her, subconsciously she might be able to hear you."

They entered the room, and after a moment the doctor excused herself.

Jake slowly walked over to Kate.

She was practically sitting up, her head tilted towards him, her upper body propped up by the bed. Her hair was messy and her face was still very pale, but clean from the blood. She was wearing a hospital shirt that was too big for her, and her bra had been removed. The quilts were tucked around her waist, and her hands were on top of it. She was attached to countless wires and a machine kept beeping annoyingly. A thin tube was attached around her face and into her nose, helping her breathe. A drip stand was also close to her bed, and a needle in her hand was feeding her water and the medication that kept her in a comatose state.

Jake took a deep breath and sat down next to her. He took one of her hands in both of his, and started talking to her. He told her to wake up, that he was missing her a lot. He talked to her about work, how Abby was saying that she acted out of madness and wasn't guilty. He told her about how many girls approached him at the pub, and how he knew she would have been secretly jealous, had she been there. He teased her about the impressive lingerie collection in her wardrobe and asked her if he would ever see her in it. He said that everyone sent their love and threatened her to wake up soon.

He talked to her for hours, until a nurse told him it was time to leave. "You may come again tomorrow. You really like her, don't you?"

He squeezed her hand and nodded, before leaving.

Xxxxx

He followed that same routine for days, work in the morning and hospital in the evening. After the first 3 days, the critical ones, he was accompanied by Henry, Ron and Joe almost every day.

Ronnie and Joe would also talk to her as if she could hear them, and they'd entertain them with stories about their work. Ronnie would tell her about cases from before she'd transferred to their area, and he talked to her about his previous alcohol problems. Joe told her stories about the children with whom he used to work. Henry found it hard to say much to Kate, he'd just stare at her in shock, and mainly tell her to wake up, that she'd missed 4 days of work in a row already.

"Look at that, Kate, Henry's already giving you grief for not coming to work! You'd better wake up before he has a heart attack or something" Ronnie joked to the motionless Kate, as if he talked to comatose people the whole time and it was something normal.

"Well, it's true! Besides, without her at the office, Jake can't concentrate!"

Jake cracked a smile, but didn't tear his eyes off her. He was still extremely worried about her, but with every minute, hour and day that passed, his hope grew. Not only his; even Henry looked more alert today, and the nurses still gave him that sympatical smile when they asked him who he was visiting, but now they had stopped patting his hand. And now they even dared to say, _she's probably going to be okay._ But they were still very cautious when talking to him about her condition

Someone knocked on the door, and Dr. Attard entered. She smiled at the four men, and then, like Ronnie, started talking to Kate.

"Look how many visitors you've got! Don't you think it's a bit rude that you sleep while they're talking to you?" she said cheerfully while checking Kate's chart.

"Everything seems fine, you are a very lucky woman…" she added while hanging a new drip on the stand, as the other one was empty already. She plunged the needle into the plastic tube in Kate's arm, and got out a separate needle to draw blood out of her arm, filling a small bottle with the dark red liquid. "Sorry about that, but we need to make sure that there are no markers for infections, and to see if the comatose medications have left your system already…" she continued explaining to Kate.

Then she turned to the men. "Kate has a strong will power, she's holding on to life."

Ronnie chuckled, "Ah, I think you don't mean strong, the word you're looking for is hard headed. Trust me, you'll see once she wakes up!"

The doctor smiled, "Don't you guys worry too much, she _should _soon wake up, and if she does, she will most probably make a full recovery! But give her a few days; she's not waking up for at least another 4 to 5 days."

Noticing how tired they all looked, she said, "In fact, why don't you go home? You all look like you haven't been able to sleep for a week!"

She'd hit the nail on its head, none of them had had a peaceful night since the shooting.

"Don't worry, I promise, she won't be running away!"

She smiled and left, shortly followed by Henry Joe and Ronnie. Jake however refused to leave just yet. When he and Kate were alone, he took the seat next to her bed and took her hand.

"You've had about 23 missed calls, by the way. And no, I don't answer other people's phones!" he smirked at his own joke. Was it his imagination that he saw the corner of her mouth twitch?

He stayed in her room for hours, until a nurse came in to replace the drip bag. Again. She was the one who usually threw him out, too.

"Everything's looking good till now!" she said brightly, and then said, "I'm sorry this had to happen to her, Mr. Thorne. You really love her, don't you? Is she your girlfriend? At first I though fiancée or wife, but she doesn't have a ring.. But you two are together, right?"

Stammering, he explained, "N-no, we're just partners at work, and friends…"

The nurse frowned. "Hmmm, that's weird. I mean, you know that feeling when you look at two people and they obviously are perfect for each other, and everyone can see it, but them?"

Jake didn't know what to say to that. He just blushed and gripped Kate's hand tighter.

"Mr. Thorne, forgive me if I'm being rude, but in life, if someone is important to you, tell them and treasure them. For you never know what might happen." She glanced meaningfully at Kate, who was still attached to dozens of wires and tubes.

She continued, "Unfortunately, we realise we should have done something and regret not doing it when it's too late to go back."

She glanced at her watch, Jake should have left Kate's room over two hours ago. But she felt pity for Jake, so she told him,

"5 more minutes, then you have to go…"


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: usual drill, all rights reserved to dick wolf... :)**

With every day that passed, the doctors became more optimistic about Kate. Jake however was still tense, he would relax once he saw her green eyes looking at him again.

Even though the doctors stopped giving her the medication that kept her in a comatose state after the first 3 days she'd been in hospital, it took 10 whole days till she finally regained conscience. At the time she finally woke up, only Jake was with her. Henry had given him the afternoon off, saying, "Go and visit Kate and tell her she'd better wake up!"

He was sitting, as usual, right next to her while holding her hand. When he'd arrived, Dr. Attard told him that they were seeing signs in Kate that she was finally waking up. She said that she'd started breathing alone and that her eyelids fluttered slightly sometimes and she'd twitch her hands too. They encouraged him to talk to her, saying it might help her to wake up sooner.

He was talking to her about the case against Abby "…and Henry insists that you appear as a witness, so you tell them about how she shot you because you lost a case. The jury will immediately see that she was out of line; imagine one would get shot each time one loses a case! No one in their right minds would became a barrister, eh?"

Kate could hear him. She was confused. Where was she? Not in her bed, it was too uncomfortable to be hers. Why did it hurt? Her chest and tummy were in agony. And could someone turn off that annoying beeping noise?!

"I wish you'd wake up. I don't like work without you, it's too creepily quiet. Sure, you can't distract me at the moment with those little things you do, like biting your lip, running a hand through your hair, smoothing down your shirt, and by the way, you should _really _close that button, you know what I mean, especially when you lean forwards to work…"

Kate smiled at that. So he did notice and stare at her when she didn't realise… she felt flattered.

"...or that annoying smirk, one day I'll wipe it off your face, you'll see, and you'll be so surprised that…Kate, you're smiling! Not so deaf as you were pretending to be, after all, eh? Trust you to wake up at this moment! Hey, sweetcheeks, can you open your eyes?"

He held his breath, watching her face which was parallel to his. Her eyelids started fluttering. After a while, she managed to crack them open. She could see him beaming at her.

"You're awake!" he told her, relief running through his veins.

She frowned, still not knowing what was happening.

"Why?" she asked. Why did it hurt, why was she here, why…? Her throat was bone dry and her voice raspy.

"Don't you remember? You were shot twice, and unconscious for almost 2 weeks."

It slowly came back to her. The lost case. Abby accusing her for irreparably destroying her already broken family, and then shooting at her. The pain she felt as the bullets ripped through her body. Jake ordering her to hold on and cupping her face. Feeling herself fading into the darkness. And the shocks. She blinked and shuddered slightly.

"Oh…"

"You remember now?"

"Yeah." She took a deep breath, and winced at the pain.

"You ok?" Jake asked worried. "How are you feeling?"

"Like… I've been shot twice. And like I haven't washed in ages…"

He laughed at that. "Don't worry, you're clean. Maybe not your hair, it's messy…."

She glared at him. "Shut up or…"

"Ooh we start with threats already huh? Well, before you kill me, I'm glad you're awake!" With that he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Surprised, she touched the spot where he kissed her, as if to hold the feeling of his warm and gentle lips there. She smiled slightly at him. Before anyone could say something else, the nurse walked in.

"Hello, Mr. Thorne, you're here early today… Oh, my, Kate, you're awake!" the nurse exclaimed. She quickly checked the monitors to make sure everything was as it should be.

"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked with a reassuring smile.

Kate repeated, "Like I've been shot twice…"

The nurse, not quite sure how to answer that said, "Are you in a lot of pain?", even though she already knew that Kate was most probably in hell.

Kate nodded.

"Well, then, sweetie, I'm going to give you a shot of pain relief. It'll sedate you. For now we will have to sedate you often..." she said, while filling a syringe with a liquid.

Kate didn't want to fall back asleep, "But…" she said, eyeing the syringe warily.

Jake interrupted her, "No buts. You're in pain, I can see it in your face, and that's why they'll sedate you. Go to sleep, and I'll be back tomorrow. I'll bring the others too, they've been worried sick about you!"

"But…" she tried again.

He sighed at her. "What now, Kate?"

"Jake, how long do I have to stay here? When can I leave?"

Jake and the nurse burst out laughing. The nurse replied, "Not for a while, unfortunately… but if you sleep and rest, you will recover sooner..." while she emptied the contents of the syringe into Kate's drip. Her eyelids almost immediately began to flutter.

"Now relax and sleep."

"But… Don't want to…" she mumbled, trying to keep looking at Jake. He smiled at her and promised, "I'll be here tomorrow. Now stop fighting, and relax!"

He let go of her hand, only to tuck a stand of hair behind her ear.

She managed a small smile and another "But…" before she went under.

The nurse patted Jake's arm and sighed as if she'd just had to babysit an impatient toddler, "She's very stubborn, isn't she?"

Jake laughed, "You've got no idea!"

Smiling, the nurse told him, "She's going to be ok, you'll see!"

He smiled, relieved at that.


End file.
